Rising Sun: The Sequel to Darkest Before Dawn
by Eveshka
Summary: Two years after the restoration of Zelgadis, and not all is well within the City of Saillune. The trials of the spellbound hearts continue and some must come to terms with the duality of those hearts before they lose everything and everyone.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

He stood, looking out of the window, his gaze cast over the city he had so recently made home. It was a night much as any other night had been, spent cloistered within his rooms, left to his own devices. A meal would be brought up; he'd dispose of it, and return the empty dishes to the hallway to be removed.

In a sense, he felt akin to a prisoner, though he could leave at any time. The only thing that kept him from doing so was himself.

He knew why he hadn't just up and left, why he hadn't just thrown it all to Shabranigdo and left the sparkling White City of Saillune: Amelia. After all was said and done, after everything that he'd quietly stood to the side and ignored, it all faded away when she smiled at him.

"When was the last time you saw her, Jedah?" The voice came from behind him, a softly spoken question that he had not wished to hear.

The voice, he didn't mind, however, and Jedah turned to look to Zelgadis. "She's been gone a fortnight. Business in Slidell," Jedah replied, crossing to Zelgadis and offering his hand in greeting.

Zelgadis regarded Jedah's hand for a moment, and lifted an eyebrow pointedly, taking the offered hand. "Since when did you stand on ceremony with me, Jedah?" He pulled, the unexpected action causing Jedah to stumble into him, catching him in the brotherly embrace that he had expected.

What neither Jedah nor Zelgadis had expected was for Jedah to cling in reaction, to shudder for a moment and then go still as he spoke. "I haven't seen her in a month, Zelgadis. We passed in the hallway and she smiled to me briefly, but that's all."

Zelgadis' heart sank. If that was the case, then Jedah likely didn't know that… "Jedah," he said, pulling back and away from the man who was older, but looked so much younger. "We should go. This is no place for you, cooped up like a jeweled bird, languishing away without company. Come home with me. Lina will be happy to see you."

Jedah's gaze flickered to Zelgadis for a moment, and a slow dreading comprehension washed over him. He heard what Zelgadis had said. He'd heard the words that Zelgadis hadn't said as well. It explained so many things, why he hadn't seen Amelia for more than the passing greeting, why she'd avoided him for the better part of a year.

Amelia had a Consort, and it was well past his time to go.

Magic swept out, dissolving the décor, the illusion of a living inhabitant fading away to nothing. A spare few things remained, and he swept them into his hands with a thought. Glancing over them, he considered. They were trivial things, bits and baubles that would mean nothing to the casual observer. He pocketed them and looked to his hand.

The star sapphire ring that he had been given the day that Amelia took the throne still glinted as new. It was a symbol of office, a signet that identified his rank within the Royal Entourage. But he hadn't needed it for more than a year. He hadn't been asked to act in his official capacity, so the signet had carried no weight, no bearing. It was simply a star sapphire that he had chosen to wear as a symbol of the promise he'd given the young woman in Krimzon.

It meant nothing now.

As Zelgadis watched, Jedah quietly removed the ring and brought the gemstone to his lips. He closed his eyes, kissed the stone, and dropped the ring into the palm of his hand, crushing the stone and the gold together, a flare of his power weaving up and around, twisting it, changing it.

When Jedah lowered his hand, the stone had changed. Instead of a simple star sapphire, it was a golden star buried within the blue of the stone. With careful and deliberate movements, he placed the stone on the floor in the center of the room, leaving it to be discovered by whatever frightened servant was sent within the room.

"I've spent three years in this tower, Zelgadis. Three years learning how to live as humans live." Jedah looked up and offered the faintest hint of his old smile. "No matter the ups and downs, I have to say that it was as beautiful as that gemstone."

"Are you leaving that as a message?" Zelgadis asked, looking to the stone that Jedah's power had touched. "As a way for her to contact you if she needs to?" Was it as the way that he had done with the stone that he had sent to Lina through the bouncing youth he'd thought his brother?

"No, not that stone," Jedah replied, a hint of sadness within his voice. "It's my gift to her, yes. But it is not a method for her to find me, for her to cast a spell and call me to her side." He walked back to Zelgadis and ran his fingers through his hair, the old gesture giving Zelgadis a momentary smile.

"When the stone comes into her hands, and it will come into her hands, the magic within it will bring her a happiness that I couldn't give her, Zelgadis. Memories of the two of us will fade gently, and eventually I will fade from her memory completely. It's the last happiness that I can give her."

Zelgadis stared hard at Jedah for a moment and then shook his head. "Are you certain you want to do that, Jedah? To take away everything that you were to her? Is that wise?" In his eyes, Jedah was reacting much the way a heartsick lover might, not that it surprised him much. He'd known that Jedah had fallen in love with Amelia., even though they all knew that it couldn't be.

"It is as it is, Zelgadis. Let's go." Jedah extended his hand, allowing Zelgadis to show him the way to where he had made a home with Lina, turning his back on everything that he'd held dear for those three years: Amelia.

He didn't feel Zelgadis' magic sweep the stone along after them.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

They arrived in a small garden with ivy climbing lazily over the walls, closing it in and making it seem so very cozy. It didn't strike Jedah as something that Lina would appreciate, so he concluded that it was probably Zelgadis' handiwork. "Wow… this is nice," he said, looking around at the leaves waving in the wind of their arrival. "Is this your garden retreat? Somewhere to retire from the world and write in your endless journals?"

Zelgadis pocketed the gemstone as Jedah looked around, and shook his head. "I don't spend as much time here as I thought I would. I thought I'd need this garden, somewhere to hide myself when I couldn't hold on to my balance." He gave a little half-chuckle and shrugged. "Let's get you inside and say hi to Lina."

The moment that Jedah opened the wooden door, Lina looked up from her work on the table. It was a strange and awkward moment as Jedah walked into the room and Lina looked not at him, but over his shoulder to Zelgadis.

"Hi," he started, but she walked to him, looking into his eyes for a moment before she offered that faint little smile of hers. The hair on the back of his neck stood up, and he looked at her in bewilderment as she simply stood there and looked at him. "What? Do you not want me here? It was Zelgadis' idea to…" He went down on his knees as she punched him in the stomach, pain lancing through him.

It felt… good. Beyond Zelgadis' greeting embrace, Jedah hadn't felt in months. He hadn't felt the touch of another, hadn't felt pain or the pleasure that pain brought him in longer than he cared to think about. And it hit him with the brilliant white pain of a breaking rib as she kicked him: He hadn't felt this way in years, hadn't felt the delightful duality of pleasurable pain. He'd missed it.

Zelgadis leaned against the doorframe, watching Lina as she gritted her teeth and brought the back of her hand hard against Jedah's cheek in a resounding slap. After the second year, he'd grown accustomed to the strange dual nature of the pain, though the human years still struggled in the back of his mind, wanting to cry out against the perceived abuse.

The fact that he knew how badly Jedah needed it was what kept him silent. His mortal heart had broken when he'd seen Jedah in the tower room, and he wondered if Jedah himself had known how badly he had looked. He'd looked as a man who had starved for so long that he had grown used to it, his eyes sunken and dull without indication of spirit.

Zelgadis hadn't been able to meet Lina's gaze when he'd followed Jedah into the house, couldn't face the shock that he had known would be there. Even now, he couldn't look too hard to her, couldn't bring himself to see the tears that he knew she was fighting against shedding. He closed his eyes against the sight, focusing his mind elsewhere, trying to put aside the rising bloodlust that he himself felt in reaction.

He could feel the pain, feel the twisted delight that Jedah was taking. He could also feel the pain from Lina, the pain of her hand as it broke under the force she used to hit Jedah. With a thought, he moved, shifting in behind Lina and catching her to him tightly, feeling her fight for a brief moment and then relax, sobbing.

Jedah was only barely aware that Zelgadis had pulled Lina back. He knew that Lina had broken her hand, that pain had washed through him and the fact that she'd been willing to break her own hand trying to help him had made it somehow all the more potent. He fell back on his heels, lifting a hand to shove bloodied hair out of his face, opening his eyes to see the redheaded sorceress crumpled in Zelgadis' tight embrace, tears coursing down her cheeks.

A spell came to his hand, a golden glitter forming at his fingers, and Jedah reached across to Lina, gently touching her hand with two fingers, the healing spell soothing her pain, knitting the broken bones back together and easing the damage she'd done elsewhere as well. After a moment, the spell faded and he drew his hand back. He felt ill at ease, unsure what to say after all of that. She'd greeted him the best way she possibly could, even going beyond her own pain.

Jedah looked to Zelgadis, seeing the understanding in the other's eyes, and offering a faint smile of his own. "You're one lucky creature, Zelgadis. A Mazoku could get used to coming home to a welcome such as that one." His words were true, and it had the desired effect, for Zelgadis and Lina both blushed, and Lina freed herself from her husband's grasp to throw herself at Jedah in a hug.

"It's good to see you, Jedah," she whispered in his ear, and he found himself breaking into a grin, hugging her back like the youth he had once portrayed. Over her shoulder and through her hair, he could see Zelgadis echo that grin, and he felt himself relax, the unease fading away into a memory.

"It's good to be here, Lina. Thank you." Jedah replied, hugging her tightly for a moment before he released her and sent his refreshed powers around him, returning his appearance and physical form back to one piece. He couldn't voice it, couldn't tell the two in front of him what her willingness to hurt herself for his sake had meant to him. He couldn't bring that admission to his lips, though he thought that they both knew.

"You should stay with us for a while, Jedah." Lina said as she stood and swept another chair to the table with her magic. "We haven't had visitors for a while, and I think it would do us all good." It didn't sound like she was giving him an option, not that he'd have argued.

He felt, strangely, as if he'd come home.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"So where are we?" Jedah asked, rising to his feet and moving to look out of a window. The street beyond was busy, people bustling back and forth on a dirt road, and it didn't look overly built up like Saillune. "Rural, but pretty."

"Zefilia," Zelgadis replied, standing and walking over to look out the window next to Jedah. "It's Lina's hometown, the best place for us to have a home, even if we aren't always here. The wine here isn't half-bad, either."

As Jedah turned, a basket came flying out at Zelgadis, who merely reached up and caught it. "Well, I see she hasn't changed any. That's good for the two of you," Jedah followed up, catching the loaf of bread that followed the basket. "Have you two had any children?"

This time it was the knife that went flying with deadly accuracy. Zelgadis simply plucked it out of the air with a wry smirk and offered to cut the bread into the basket. "No, no children. Sylphiel and Gourry have a girl, though. I'd say she's about two years old now."

"She was two last month," Lina retorted, walking over with a tray bearing a decanter of wine and three goblets. She turned to place it on the table and poured the red liquid. "We can go see her whenever. Sylphiel and Gourry are always happy to have us over."

Jedah nodded and moved to pick up a goblet and look at the dazzling scarlet of the wine for a moment before he took a sip. "That is good, Lina, and the wine is superb." He turned and looked to the others for a moment, thinking.

Lina hadn't changed much since he'd seen her last. Her hair looked a little longer, and her eyes showed a little more age, but they still glinted with the promise of her unpredictable temper. Just because she wasn't wearing the talismans at the moment didn't mean that she couldn't carry her own at Zelgadis' side.

Zelgadis, on the other hand… Jedah nodded to himself. The formerly haunted look had left the once-chimera, revealing a man who looked calm and at ease. It made Jedah smile, and the smile turned into a grin when Zelgadis quirked an eyebrow at him. Heading off any queries, he lifted his glass. "I'm glad the two of you are happy together. You both deserve it."

Lina opened her mouth, but said nothing, instead taking a drink of her own wine. She sensed it rapidly becoming another awkward moment, and lowered the glass, looking to Jedah. "It takes a lot of work sometimes. But it wouldn't be worth it if it didn't. Hey Zel, what do you think we should do for dinner?"

Food was always one of Lina's favorite things, and Jedah could have placed bets on her bringing it up within an hour of his arrival. "You're hosting me… why don't I take care of dinner? It's the least that I can do…" He lifted a hand, calling his magic to him, flexing powers that hadn't been used in entirely too long, and began collecting food onto the table.

Once upon a time, Lina's eyes would have grown round at the fascination of the food appearing. Roasts, fish, fowl, side dishes beyond imagination arranged themselves on the table, but it didn't seem to faze her any longer. She'd grown accustomed to the magic wielded by Zelgadis, and Jedah's magics were considerably similar.

When Jedah lowered his hand, the table was heavy with food and the smell was beyond intoxicating. He'd not actually eaten since that last dinner- he forced his thoughts away from that, and looked brightly to both Lina and Zelgadis. "Well, I think that should do reasonably enough. Shall we?"

Lina looked up at Jedah from around the turkey leg she'd grabbed, but instead of saying anything, she just winked at him cheekily. He'd never known Lina to stand on ceremony when it came to food, why in the world had he thought she'd do so now. "Ah, well, nevermind…" He shrugged a bit helplessly and sat at the table and began to eat.

After dinner, Lina shooed Zelgadis and Jedah out of the way as she fussed the guest room into some semblance of habitable. Jedah tried to remind her that he was a Mazoku and didn't need that much comfort, but the look Lina had given him had been enough to silence his protests. Meekly, Jedah backed out of the way and went back over to the front window to look out.

"You can stop looking out of windows, Jedah." Zelgadis said as he walked up behind him. "You don't have to stay cooped up like a bird any longer. You want to go, just do it. Lina and I will understand." A hand rested on his shoulder. "Come and go as you please, Jedah. You're family."

Jedah turned, looking to Zelgadis, that watered steel gaze unable to meet the aquamarine one for long. He didn't need to tell Zelgadis much, he knew that the other man could read him like an open scroll. "It will take time, Zelgadis. Much happened that you do know, and even more still happened that you don't. In some cases, it is best that you don't know all of what happened."

"You'll tell me what you're willing to tell me when you are willing to tell it, Jedah. You always have," Zelgadis replied with a nod. There was no use trying to pry it from Jedah, but he suspected that the youth (could he even call him that?) was far sadder than he allowed the outside world to see. "But I'm here, and I daresay that Lina is too."

"Okay, the room is all set, it's not much but it's comfortable," Lina clapped her hands together as she walked back into the open room. "Just make yourself at home, Jedah. If there's one thing I insist on you being: it is yourself."

As he waved goodnight to them both, Jedah had to admit to wondering who himself was. He wasn't who he'd started this journey out being, and he certainly didn't want to be who he was now. He wanted to be his old self again, the troublemaker younger brother without a care in the world.

As he lay down on the bed, he wondered if he could.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Jedah was a Mazoku. More to point, he was a Mazoku Lord, no matter how hard he tried to deny it at times, and given that, he didn't need to sleep. Sometimes he did, sometimes he pretended, and sometimes… sometimes was tonight.

He'd lain in the bed for a while, staring up and out, not seeing the ceiling behind him but many things past and gone. He saw the smiles, saw how they had changed, how distant they'd gone with him unwilling to accept what he was seeing.

He saw how her eyes had changed over the months. In his mind's memory, he saw how she had started to close him out, how she needed his advice less and less, until it was only the occasional letter passed through a servant. After that, the silence that had come after had seemed normal.

Unable to remain in the bed, he rose, pulling on his pants and drawing a robe around himself before he stepped out into the hallway and crossed to the door that led to that little garden niche where he and Zelgadis had arrived. The open air might do him some good, and if he had to leave, the garden would shield his departure from eyes that didn't understand.

He passed through the magical ward, grateful again that his magic and Zelgadis' were nearly the same, and opened the door, stepping outside and pausing to physically breathe in the air around him. It was sweet, clean, the hint of flowers and winemaking yeast barely detectable beyond the earthy smell of green.

It settled him somewhat, and he closed the door quietly behind him as he walked across and sat on the bench, leaning back to look up at the sky through the ivy leaves that seemed to want to bend over him and offer him seclusion. He closed his eyes, stilling his thoughts, stilling his memories, drawing that leafy green peace into his mind.

It had rained the day they'd buried Philionel, the skies matching the sorrows of Naga and Amelia, raindrops falling like the tears that the Princesses could not set free. Jedah had walked with Amelia and Naga to the gravesite, had watched as they had gone through the motions and done the duties that had been laid upon them by tradition.

He had walked with them back to the Palace, had expected them to seclude themselves as they had done, and continued on to his rooms, pondering the strange appropriateness of Lord Hellmaster being present at the funeral for the most loved King of Saillune.

What he hadn't expected was the knock on his door, the surprise when Amelia threw herself into his arms, sobbing. He'd held her the entire night, cradled her against himself and drawing them both to the top spire of the tower, perching them there where she couldn't be found. He hadn't needed to ask how Naga had spent the night. The bill for the alcohol spoke well enough for that.

Amelia, on the other hand… in the formal weeks of mourning, she was a strong and silent figure through the day, receiving sympathies from all those who wished to give them, peasants and Lords alike. She refused none, and thanked each visitor politely and appreciatively. At night, she cried herself to sleep in Jedah's arms above the city.

She'd needed him then, and he'd liked that feeling of being needed. After she'd been named Queen, however, she'd begun to move away from him, becoming absorbed in the duties and demands that accompanied that title. Jedah had known it was coming, but it still hadn't prepared him for it. Even Naga had pulled away, being called into her sister's closed Cabinet meetings, often ending up having to be the go-between until she went abroad as an emissary from Saillune.

He'd been left to his own devices then, at first content to walk the Palace as he always had, listening to the rumors and sometimes dabbling in a bit of his own manipulating of the shadows that tried to cast themselves over the city. He'd made it very clear that Saillune was protected not only by Cepheid, but also quietly by Hellmaster… no matter the eyebrows real or perceived that may have risen over it.

At least, until that last dinner.

Jedah didn't want to think about that.

He brought his hands up to his face, opening his eyes and sitting forwards, hands pausing at the back of his neck as he sat with his elbows akimbo for a moment. With a sigh, he lowered his arms, and realized that he wasn't alone.

Lina was standing on the step from the house, looking at him quietly. When she saw that he'd seen her, she closed the door gently behind her and walked across the flagstones to sit on the bench beside him. "I should have guessed that you don't sleep either." She tucked her feet up under her and looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. "Whatever happened, Jedah… I'm sorry."

His eyebrows quirked at her, and he wondered for a moment, and finally shook his head in dismay at himself. "Have I become that transparent, Lina? I'm sorry… I shouldn't burden you two with my troubles." Jedah jumped when her hand touched his arm, looking to her in surprise.

"Jedah, you may not truly be Zelgadis' brother, but you've always acted as a brother to me. In my view, you're family, and family isn't a burden. If you need to talk to someone, I'm here." She gave his arm a little squeeze, offering that little smile of hers that had meant so much to him when he'd thought that everyone turning against him just because he was Mazoku.

Impulsively, Jedah moved, catching Lina up and hugging her tightly, whispering his thanks into her hair, but the words jumbled together into a strange little sound that he couldn't half voice. He was crying. His tears were soaking into her hair, and even though he wanted to stop, he couldn't keep himself from shaking with sobs. Finally, he gave up trying, and simply let the emotion take over and surrendered to the tears.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

In all of her life, Lina Inverse Greywords had never once put thought to the idea that she would be sitting in a garden behind the house that she owned in Zefilia, never mind the concept of cradling a sobbing man who was none other than the Mazoku Lord Hellmaster himself. It simply wasn't anything that sounded remotely possible, but given the strange impossibilities she'd already seen, it seemed almost normal.

He'd clung to her, shaking with his sobs, each stifled sound something that tried to break Lina's heart, and all she could do was hold him and let him work through it on his own. Eventually, Zelgadis stepped outside, his initial curiosity replaced with a sad note of sympathy when he realized what was happening.

Lina lifted her gaze to Zelgadis, and he knew that she was worried, knew she wanted to do something for Jedah, but felt entirely helpless. All she could do was offer him the strength of physical contact, a gentle and loving embrace that wasn't enough, and couldn't be enough. He needed more than she could give and her sad smile told Zelgadis so.

Tentatively, Zelgadis reached out to Jedah with his magic, but the pain that slammed back forced him to withdraw instantly. Instinctively, he reacted, shifting into his Mazoku appearance, eyes darkening and teeth turning sharp. With a desperate spell, Zelgadis left the garden before his presence turned Jedah as well and began something that neither could afford.

When the world re-shaped around him, Zelgadis looked around to see where he was, and decided that it had once been a monastery. It tingled, the familiar tinge of magic, and he followed the trail to the room that had once been a library.

It had been torn apart by magics familiar, powers that his own tingled in resonance, thrilled to, almost dancing to the echoes of emotion within the stones. A great pillar rose from the center of the room, an incongruous and jagged shape jarring against the fluid lines of the architecture. Zelgadis lifted a hand, bringing a light spell into the room to illuminate the area and identify the structure that he'd encountered.

Twenty seconds later, he had an answer to several questions.

He remembered as he looked at what was clearly a crystal, remembered that strange visit from Jedah. It had been the last time they'd seen him until Zelgadis had brought him back. They'd been traveling, and Jedah had caught up with them, a strangely silent arrival that had disquieted Lina and himself.

Even when questioned relentlessly, Jedah would only admit to having had a significant argument with someone. Lina had assumed it was Xellos, and Zelgadis had been inclined to agree. Added to the fact that after that day, they'd seen hide nor hair of the purple pest, Zelgadis had been convinced of it.

Here in front of him was the proof.

Suspended in the crystal before him was the figure of Xellos, still and peaceful with his eyes closed. Zelgadis had been within one of Hellmaster Phibrizzo's crystals, knew that it wasn't the death that it seemed to be, but knew still that if the crystal were to break, it would be. He knew that in order for Xellos to be encased in that crystal, his lifesource had to have been consolidated into one of those spheres… and broken.

The questions were, could he release Xellos from the crystal and return the Trickster Priest to the world? And did he want to?

It wasn't truly the case where Zelgadis needed the answer, he knew that Xellos was important to Jedah, even if they had been involved in a fight. As he circled the crystal pillar, he realized that the fight had likely been in regards to Amelia, and given the way that had gone, Xellos had likely seen the truth before Jedah had. There truly was nothing like blind-fool love, Zelgadis decided as he came to a stop before Xellos once more.

It took less than the beat of his heart for Zelgadis to drop all pretense of humanity, to allow the full scope of his power to come close to his hands. The shift in his vision showed him the thread of Xellos' existence, showed him the path to follow where the Trickster had been banished. With less than a thought, Zelgadis moved.

It was dark and confining, this place of containment, nearly stifling even to Zelgadis' Mazoku senses. He took a moment, and then addressed the other present casually, as if he'd simply strolled in for a visit. _Well, you certainly did pick one hell of a truth to slam him in the face with, didn't you?_

_He asked me, and I answered him. I've only ever lied to him once, Zelgadis, and that was hard enough to do. I knew what the penalty would be,_ Xellos replied, a quietly soundless voice that echoed within Zelgadis' mind. _Though I am subservient to his mother, he was the Mazoku who took my Mortal Soul…_ he didn't finish, but Zelgadis knew that Jedah had also stolen Xellos' heart.

_How do I release you from this, Xellos? Jedah needs you now more than he ever did before._ Zelgadis replied, casting about for a way to return Xellos to his physical affectation. He knew that Xellos wasn't purely Astral, just as he himself and even Jedah weren't. It was that little bit of mortality that made them more than simply Mazoku.

_Even if you wanted to, you can't, Zelgadis. The sphere has been destroyed; the only reliquary for my continued existence is that crystal within the Great Library of Diergat. You are not Hellmaster, and without him making the choice to free me, the only way that I know to reverse this is the way that you yourself were once freed._

If Zelgadis had been in his physical form, he would have gasped in dismay. _The destruction of Hellmaster Phibrizzo was what freed me._ If Xellos was right, the only way that he could be freed was the destruction of Jedah.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

It had been silent in the little garden for longer than Lina was comfortable, and she shifted to see if Jedah was still awake, or if he had sobbed himself to sleep. She found that his eyes were open, liquid pools of steel blue, unfocusing and distant. It struck her with a jolt that the last time she had seen someone like this, it had been Zelgadis in the center of town, in front of that fountain. "Jedah!" She gasped, shaking him lightly, and when he didn't respond, she slapped his face, hard.

It took a moment, but he blinked, his gaze shifting to her with maddening slowness. His pupils had elongated, catlike and almost feral, a glitter darkening their depths with a dangerous tint. He said nothing, but needed to say nothing as his entire appearance shifted from distraught youth to Lord Hellmaster. His hair darkened, lengthened and the tangible aura of power was suddenly so clear that it felt stifling.

It occurred to Lina that she was in a situation that was going from extremely bad to something even worse that she couldn't begin to describe. It also occurred to her that Zelgadis was nowhere within reach, and some distant part of her mind registered that he too had shifted before vanishing. She didn't think that she would be so lucky as to have Jedah simply vanish. If he went wild as Hellmaster, she had very little chance of restricting damage.

The air was charged, an electric sense of danger rising furiously into Lina's awareness. Panic rose, and she furiously fought it down, knowing that her panic would only feed him. Instead, she glared hotly back at him, summoning her inner courage and bringing both fists together, crashing them against his ears hard enough to send shockwaves of pain up both of her arms. She tried to choke down the involuntary cry of pain, and it turned into a broken little whimper.

Jedah recoiled at the impact, eyes closing as he doubled in white-hot and nearly-deafening pain, falling backwards and reaching out with his power to catch himself on the flagstones. Her whimper of pain shattered against him, and a wall of power flared up around her, shielding her away from him. Somehow, the command of word given to Zelgadis and subsequently re-enforced to Lina overrode the base drive of Mazoku, and his sworn oath to protect her from harm took over. Even if he had to protect her from himself, he was oath-bound to her to do so and to break it would possibly do more harm than even he might survive.

Lina felt the protecting shield snap around her and it distracted her momentarily from the healing spell she'd cast on her arms. First he'd looked like he was ready to attack her, and then he'd cast a shield around her? She didn't understand but before she could say anything, Jedah looked at her sadly, and then vanished, leaving her alone in the garden.

Jedah's desperate fling of magic sent him across the land to that upstairs room in his house in Krimzon. Almost immediately, he regretted it, for this place too was tinted with memories of Amelia. The goblets, the fireplace, the rug… he couldn't stay here, either. This had been where he'd finally admitted that he loved the brunette girl who was now Queen. He'd known that he couldn't have her, known that she would one day turn away, and still he'd stayed. He'd been an idiot, trying to make it work, to contain his nature and love her with the mortal half of his heart.

He'd convinced himself that it was working, and ignored every sign that indicated the exact opposite. He'd played himself the fool for three long years, and he was madder than hell at himself for it.

He felt the rage building, felt the fury fight its way through to reassert itself. He couldn't resist it, didn't resist it, the mortal heart within him breaking, washing the silent and shattered tears over his starved soul. He needed more, but where could he find it?

Where could he find what he wanted?

Where could he find what he needed?

He needed to feel.

He needed pain that was not his own.

He oriented, focused, and _moved_, appearing over a town that seemed so peaceful, so innocent. It was perfect, the tranquility beyond any that he had seen in a very long time. These people went along with their lives, completely oblivious of the greater madness of the world around them. They probably didn't even know what a Mazoku was; let alone what sort of calamity one could bring.

And it was high time that they learned.

Jedah landed in the center courtyard area of the town, a figure in black with madness as his only companion. He reached out, catching a man with his magic and drawing him through town, moving the man's feet until he was within sight of Jedah's nearly feral feline gaze.

"I want you to know…" Jedah purred, a deep velvet voice echoing in the small courtyard of the town. "This isn't nearly as personal as I am sure it feels." With a dark grin, he brought the man forwards with his magic, up into physical reach, catching him tightly by the collar and lifting him close with one hand.

As terror rose within the man, Jedah forced him closer still, kissing him full on the lips, pulling the breath out of him even as his magic wrapped around the man and tightened slowly, ever so slowly. Jedah felt the panic of the dying man fill him as his lungs collapsed and he struggled to fight one last feeble time, but by the time Jedah's magic had dissipated, it was far too late.

Jedah allowed the body to fall, his eyes glittering as he felt that tingle that thrilled throughout him. That had been good, but it wasn't nearly enough to sate the three year deficit that he'd subjected himself so willingly to. He wanted to turn this town upside-down, to reduce it to an unmitigated hell, and then master it.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

_There has to be a way, Xellos. Zelgadis considered. We both know my chances and desires to defeat Jedah. He needs you, needs someone who believes in him._ Zelgadis felt the non-existent walls of the Astral prison pulse, as if something had pulled on Jedah's magic, and it gave him a pause. _Xellos, what was that?_

_I haven't the faintest idea, Zelgadis. In case you hadn't noticed, I've been a bit removed from the world, cooped up in here and quite left to my own meager devices._ Xellos' dryly caustic reply came. _But if I had to wager a guess, I'd say that Jedah has dropped the pretense of being the cute little brother that you know and love._

Zelgadis' own magic pulsed, and he cast a mental thread back towards Lina. She wasn't alone, and he could feel her terror, even though she was fighting it furiously. There was a terrifying moment of stillness, and then two distinctly different things happened.

Through his link to Lina, he felt the flare of power, the sudden sheltering from harm. Her terror melted immediately after, and Zelgadis felt the sudden swirl of magic as the source of her terror vanished like a stain of breath upon a mirror.

The second thing that Zelgadis felt was that the magic of the prison shifted, realigning itself and resonating with his own magic. It wasn't Hellmaster's usual prison, wasn't the same structure that he had been trapped senselessly within. No, this was something more insidious, designed to carry its own method of torment to the occupant.

He could also tell that Xellos could have released himself if he had chosen to, and after a moment, Zelgadis realized why Xellos hadn't simply left. _You're sulking. He asked the question, you gave him the truth and when he still picked Amelia, you attacked him in a fit of jealous rage. _If he'd been in his physical form, he'd have slapped his hand to his face. _He turned on you, trapped you in this, and then left you to sulk and cry like a five year old mortal. _With a sigh, Zelgadis dissolved the prison, dispelling it with a simple act of will and drawing himself and Xellos back towards the Great Library of Diergat.

The crystal pulsed, a violet glow shimmering as the dissolution reversed, the Trickster Priest returning to the physical fragment that had been held prisoner. Zelgadis opened his eyes in time to see the crystal dissolve, releasing Xellos to the world once more. As the purple priest of pandemonium alighted on the floor, Zelgadis spoke. "You have to go to Jedah, Xellos. He needs something that neither Lina nor I can give him."

The look in Xellos' eyes chilled Zelgadis to the core. "I have no intentions of doing anything, Zelgadis. While I appreciate your efforts to free me, you never should have assumed that I would go running back to Jedah like a trained lapdog." His voice was harsh, the annoying edge gone to reveal a dark tone of distaste. "No, Zelgadis. I owe no allegiance to Hellmaster Jedah."

And with that, Xellos Metallium vanished.

Lina had just closed the door to the house and leaned on it when Zelgadis arrived in the front room, cursing in a language that she had never heard before. Concerned, she moved away from the door, walking across to look to Zelgadis. "Zel, what's wrong? Did you find something? Jedah was acting strangely… I've never seen him so frighteningly powerful. For a moment, I was pretty sure that he'd lost control and then he just vanished."

"I found Xellos," Zelgadis began, but one look at Lina stopped him cold. "Lina… you look like you're about to faint." He reached out and pulled her to him, feeling how tense she was, holding her close to him. "What happened to Jedah? I felt… something; I don't know how to describe it." She'd said something about him acting strangely, and he needed to know what definition 'strangely' had, especially if it had affected Lina like this.

She spoke into his shoulder, finding herself clinging to Zelgadis as she saw the blue eyes shift in her mind. "He changed, Zel… his eyes were so fierce, so deadly… it felt like he wanted to do something horrible… but then this wall came up between us. He looked so sad before he vanished, as if his heart were broken and could never be repaired."

"He and Xellos had a fight that day he came to find us, Lina. He locked away the one person on this world who could love him completely, turned his back and left him there in an Astral prison." Zelgadis said quietly, holding Lina close. How was it that Jedah had done so well in restoring him to Lina… and failed so fantastically at his own heart?

Lina stepped back from Zelgadis, her eyes wide and face pale. "He just turned on Xellos? Over Amelia?" That fight wasn't anything that she wanted to imagine. "He didn't destroy Xellos completely, did he? Is that why he hasn't been seen, because he was too damaged?" She didn't think that it had sounded like Xellos was dead… or as dead as a Mazoku could get.

"No, he locked Xellos in an Astral prison from which Xellos himself could have escaped if he'd stopped sulking long enough." Zelgadis had to admit that neither Jedah nor Xellos were handling things particularly well. And being that neither of them knew about Amelia… "Lina, we should go to Saillune. I'm partly to blame for this, but I think it's high time someone asked Amelia exactly what she intends to do. She hasn't told Jedah, and he's bound to find out the hard way."

Lina didn't want to think about Jedah learning the hard way. She really didn't want to think about the fact that Jedah didn't know, either. For all of his power, she knew that Jedah couldn't deal with his human heart, even though he put up a good pretense. "If nothing else, Zelgadis, we have to protect her. When he does find out…" Lina's voice trailed off as she could see that neither one of them wanted to think about that. "Let's just go, Zel."

He nodded, calling forth his magic, shifting them both through the dimensions towards the White City of Saillune.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

The first thing that Hellmaster had done was to raise a wall around the town, removing all escape options for the mortals that he was to terrify. He'd seen Phibrizzo do it several times before, and it suited his purpose. It had incited panic, and the inhabitants were stirring the first sweet layers of terror.

But there was more to come, oh, so much more to come. He hadn't truly started. One by one, he'd pick and choose the townsfolk, entertaining himself slowly as he drank the sweet nectar of their fear. The woman he was currently playing cat and mouse with was so terrified that he felt that her heart might burst within her chest. He had little trouble following her, the trail of terror was as clear as fire to him. When he appeared behind her and whispered in her ear, her heart did burst, and she collapsed without a sound.

It was good, but he wanted more.

He spun, sensing the magic, catching the volley of flare arrows in the air and chuckling openly. "Oh, I see. Were you looking for fire?" His magic swelled, enhanced the flare arrows, and he sent them flying back at the sorcerers with furious speed, delighting in the cries of pain as the mortals were caught by their own modified spells. "I'm afraid that you'll have to come up with a better attack than that," he taunted, turning again as he sensed the sweetest terror still to come.

She was a child, a girl no taller than his waist, a fragile creature standing in the road. She looked to be perhaps six, maybe seven, with long blonde hair waving in the gentle breeze. Her mother was rooted to the spot with dread, reaching for her child, unable to call her name, reaching out for her in mute terror, though she was more than several arms lengths away.

Like a lazy cat, Jedah circled the child, watching the mother. He was not inclined to show mercy, but the mother didn't know that. He closed into the girl's space and reached out to her, trailing his finger along her cheek. As he toyed with the girl's hair, he reveled in the fear and desperation that flowed like waves out of her mother. When the girl finally slipped past her horror and began to cry, he felt that one single emotion that could ease him: the pure and unadulterated terror of a child.

He closed his eyes, feeling the emotion fill him, feeling that sweet rain of her tears wash over him, beginning to ease the pain that he felt. It resonated within him, thrilling through his entire being like the touch of a long-lost lover. For a moment, there was an echoed cry that he barely felt and couldn't place, but then silence stole the pleasure as a badly-thrown spell shot past him and killed the child, shattering her instantly in a Dynast Breath.

If the child's tears had been given the chance to ease him, he might have left the town intact. But the mother's cry of anguish fueled his fury and Hellmaster opened his eyes with a roar, a circle of fire bursting explosively away from him, obliterating the buildings and the lives in his immediate proximity.

Fury born from his pleasure denied carried Hellmaster into the air, lifting him up over the town, and he began to cast spells through the town, carelessly sending the inhabitants running in terror, only to be trapped by the wanton destruction his power was creating. The elements seemed at war, and to one lone figure, it was Ambervale all over again.

Fire rained around him as he moved through the town, though Xellos couldn't deny the rush of emotions was heady, a dangerously seductive pain hanging in the air. And yet, as Xellos moved, he knew that the most delightful of pain wasn't coming from the town. It was coming from Hellmaster himself, wave after wave of the most brilliant pain that Xellos had ever tasted. He wanted it and hated it at the same time, delighting that it enticed him, and detesting it for the reasons it was felt. He didn't want to forgive Jedah, didn't want to accept his own fool jealousy and mortal behavior.

And yet, he stood at the edge of the trees, regarding the brilliantly burning figure in the air, and knew that he could do nothing other than just that. As he drew his own powers around him, he could only accept that he was just as much a fool as Jedah and Zelgadis both. Damn Zelgadis for being right.

A hand fell on his shoulder from behind, heavy and undeniable. Hellmaster spun, power rippling through him like his life's blood. He was in full rage, the chaos of the destruction riding high within him, filling him with the need and desire for more.

Violet eyes shot through with black glared brightly back at him from under purple bangs. The Trickster Priest moved as the blast of power shot past him, through where he had been mere moments past. "You certainly do know how to throw a party, Hellmaster."

Hellmaster sent another bolt of power towards Xellos, but the spell passed by harmlessly. "Now, now… is that any way to greet an old friend?" Sardonic was Xellos' specialty.

The reply was a feral growl as Hellmaster leapt for Xellos in an animalistic fury. Xellos was ready for it, however, moving to catch Hellmaster into a fierce embrace. Lips crushed against lips and the soundless voice echoed along the old link between them. _Come away from this empty pleasure._ Xellos felt the build-up, felt the power begin to circle them both and pushed his mind's thoughts even closer. _Jedaikun, come with me…_

And somehow, it must have touched Jedah, reached through the rage and the fury and found the heart within, for instead of raining destruction down upon them both and the remnants of the town below, the magic pulled them away, leaving a sudden and eerie silence behind.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Rationalizing that it would be safer to arrive in the tower where Jedah had taken residence, Zelgadis had brought himself and Lina in quietly, moving down the stairs and entering the Palace directly. They hadn't visited in a while, and it seemed strangely silent in the Residential Wing.

"Jedah said that Amelia was in Slidell… but I want to look around here first," Zelgadis said quietly as they moved along hallways, headed deeper into the private rooms held by Amelia. He stopped at a door, lifting an eyebrow, and turned to look to Lina. Placing his finger to his lips, he opened the door slowly and stepped in.

Lina knew why he was opening the door. She couldn't simply step through physical objects the way that he could, so he was offering her a chance to see with him. She peered into the room, and then unable to help herself, she took five or six steps into it, coming to a stunned stop beside Zelgadis.

She was standing in a small and cozy room colored in pastel yellows and greens, curtains and fabric everywhere, the thick carpet under her feet muting her footsteps. The windows had heavy curtains crossed before them, masking the light from outside. Ahead of her, a rocking chair sat next to a crib that stood near what they both recognized as Amelia's bed.

Staring such solid proof in the face, Lina had no choice but to accept that she was standing in a nursery, but it had never occurred to her that there might be a child. "Zel… Amelia… _wow_." Lina managed, turning to look at him, but he grabbed her, wrapping his hand around her mouth and pulling her backwards into a shadow. Knowing how good his hearing was, she stilled herself, waiting to see what it was that he had heard.

The door opened and Lina heard Amelia thanking someone before she closed the door and turned to move towards the cradle, cooing to what had to be a baby in her arms. Unable to bear it any longer, Lina broke free from Zelgadis and moved towards Amelia and her charge. "Amelia…!"

Amelia spun, holding the child closer to herself, preparing half a dozen spells, stopping when she realized that it was Lina and Zelgadis, seeming to deflate for a moment before she looked at them both flatly. "You should have told me that you were coming. I would have prepared."

Unused to the rebuke, Lina looked back to Zelgadis. Seeing that he looked distracted, she turned back to look to Amelia. "Er… yeah, sorry about that. It was a bit spur of the moment." She moved forwards, looking to the child with a small smile. "So when were you going to tell us, Amelia?"

"Royal births aren't announced until the child turns one year old." Amelia turned and offered the child to Lina, watching as the redheaded sorceress took the baby awkwardly but gently. "She turns one next month." She brushed a bit of the baby's black hair away from her face, the touch to her cheek making the child's eyes blink open sleepily.

"She looks like you, Amelia." Lina grinned, rocking the girl gently, as she glanced back to Amelia. "Big blue eyes and black hair." When the baby gurgled at her, Lina laughed softly. "What's her name, or is that a secret until her announcement?"

"Erina," Amelia replied softly. "Erina wil Slidell Saillune." She watched Lina's eyes flicker up at the full name, and colored slightly. "Yes, I married Lord Slidell about a year ago. He's young, but we all were once." The look on Lina's face turned her even more scarlet, and she reached to take Erina back into her arms. "Even myself, I fear."

It dawned on Lina and a silently listening Zelgadis, and both turned varying shades of scarlet themselves. Muttering something about checking up on something, Zelgadis vanished from the room, leaving Lina standing there and watching Amelia put her daughter in the crib. "Wow, Amelia. I don't know what to say. You married and with a child was the last thing I expected. Is that why you stopped talking to Jedah?"

Amelia froze, but Lina refused to be sorry. Amelia hadn't seen Jedah when he'd arrived in Zefilia. She hadn't seen him teeter on that dangerous precipice, that fine edge of control nearly snapping around him. Amelia didn't know, or didn't want to accept how deeply Jedah loved her.

"Lina… I had to do what was best for Erina. Just because I had a loss of self-control and did a few things backwards doesn't mean that she should be punished. Kyle is young, but he's a good man. For now, it is merely the marriage of convenience and necessity. In time, perhaps it will become more." Amelia tucked Erina into her crib as she spoke.

The redheaded sorceress' stomach sank as Amelia spoke, and she shook her head. "Amelia... I… I understand, truly I do. But why exclude Jedah? He was your closest confidante in your entire entourage…" The pained look on Amelia's face silenced Lina for a moment. "You do still care about him."

Amelia looked to Lina, sighing faintly as she moved to perch on the edge of her bed. "We were too close, Lina. People could tell when we spoke, body language gives so much away… they were starting to talk. And then, that night at dinner, I'd had more than my fair share of wine, I'll admit that. If not for that night, things probably would be different."

"But it isn't, and I have Erina now. Shortly, Kyle will come to Saillune and we will make our official announcement. What could be happier? A wedding and a Royal Heiress?" Amelia wasn't seeking agreement or sympathy, she had moved past any of that. "But it is late, and I am tired." She pulled a discreet chain that hung next to the bed. "You'll be shown to guest chambers for the evening, and we can discuss this further over breakfast if Zelgadis is back by then."

Lina nodded, somewhat grateful for the terse dismissal. She'd learned more than she had bargained for, and found that she needed some time to consider it. She turned to the door when the servant arrived, and followed her mutely to a room to wait for Zelgadis to return.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

The trail of power spent led Zelgadis to a strange half-dome in the outer continent. With a sinking feeling of certainty, he rose higher into the air, lifting himself above the edge and looking down within the dome.

A smoking ruin of a town lay below him, scattered few mortal humans below him trying to fight the fires that remained alight. He hung in the air, feeding on the emotions from below for some time, allowing the concern and fear from the mortals to ripple at him like waves at his feet.

He didn't truly need it, Lina was good at inflicting pain and keeping his Mazoku nature sated, but he wouldn't allow good emotions to go to waste. Settling his appearance back to what he passed off as normal, Zelgadis alighted inside the dome next to the largest blaze and casually extinguished the flames.

The men spun, seeing the figure in off-white clothing, but before they could do anything, Zelgadis sent another extinguishing wave of magic out, two more fires guttering. "I cannot restore your homes, or loved ones but I can help with the flames." Especially as he knew who had set this town on fire.

As the men watched, Zelgadis took a page from Lina's book. He rose into the air, drawing power into his hands, a sphere of gentle blue forming as he moved. That was the show part, for the magic cast underneath would dissipate the flames, not the contents of the sphere.

The sphere burst in Zelgadis' hands, shimmering light cascading down over the town, and to those who didn't know magic, it seemed as if the flames were extinguished by that softly falling blue glimmer. It looked more magical than it was, but it served his purpose.

Landing once more, he watched the men run up to him in thanks, desperate appreciation waving over him. A normal Mazoku might have been adversely affected, but Zelgadis had learned that his unusual nature compensated for it. "I need no thanks other than to know how this happened."

"Was a man, like you," a man said, stepping forwards. "Out of nowhere he came, wielding fire and death like a madman. His eyes weren't like yours, no. Cold blue, they were. Slitted like a cat's, but dead." The man looked to someone beside him, as if prompting.

"He was a monster, some sort of creature born out of hell. My Merrin, she met his eyes, looked right into them. Hasn't been in her head since, babbling about love broken and souls split." The man spoke quietly, deliberately, and Zelgadis had the impression that the man suspected some connection between himself and the creature who had come before. Unfortunately, he wasn't far from the truth.

"I have chased him across the world," Zelgadis said, inwardly smirking at the truth within those words. "And will continue to chase him until I find him. But for the moment, I will aid you as best I can. Where is your Merrin that I may see her? I cannot be certain that I can help, but I will see what I can do." He lifted a hand, fully expecting the man to shun him.

Instead, the man led him through the rubble to a woman who was curled up against a wall, whispering words to herself, her eyes open, but unseeing. "Lost, gone, she's gone, he's gone, all lost forever, dragonflies can't walk but I don't need to, it dulls the pain to be alone…" Her words jumbled over each other in a desperate attempt to escape her lips.

Zelgadis frowned, crouching down before the woman, reaching his hand to her. When she didn't notice him, Zelgadis moved closer, placing his hand on her cheek gently, turning her head so that her eyes met his. Magic flared around him, he felt her untrained mind reach to him, felt the fleeting mental touch, and held it gently.

_He's lost, he lost her, she told him to leave her._ Too much cascaded over him all at once, and he felt his own magic rise to aid, to buffer his mind from hers as the words continued to flow. _Closed, gone, nothing to say, leave me be, she sent him away. Pain, love, love is pain, pain that cannot be used, cannot be there. Take the pain, twist it away, break, broken, lost, gone…_

Zelgadis tore his gaze from her, looking up to the man who was looking at him in concern. "Your wife has the power to read minds, and she's read his. I can help ease this, but you should take her somewhere for her to learn how to use her abilities." It wasn't unheard of for unskilled mind readers to lose themselves, which was one reason the ability was nearly lost to humans. Most of them were stark raving mad.

He turned back to the woman, centering his thoughts, clearing his mind, and then reached out to her once more. _Merrin, hear me. These words are not yours. Let me have them, give this madness to me and let me take it for you. Let me bear this burden._ His eyes glittered with magic as he started to draw off the pained thoughts swirling in her mind.

She fought him for a moment, but then the words flooded him, the pain and desperation that she had taken from Jedah overflowing the link, swirling around him like a living creature. Zelgadis winced at the emotions carried within, but the Mazoku within him rose, claiming the emotion, taking the words and reducing them to harmless whispers for him to think on later.

Shaken, Zelgadis rose, forcing his eyes to appear normal, turning to the man. "Your wife will recover, but from what I have learned, I must move faster. I have to catch him before more damage is done and more are killed." He turned without further words, walking resolutely towards the domed wall as other men followed him.

He placed both hands on the wall, sensing it, feeling the stone for a moment. Focusing his thoughts and emotions, he channeled the desire to destroy into his hands and released the power with a single pulse from each hand, sending shockwaves into the wall, cracks running throughout and shattering it from that one point. And then, to shock them further, he drew on his magic and vanished from sight.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Whoever had said that love conquered all had never faced down Hellmaster when he was in a furious rage. Mindful of this precise fact, Xellos darted off again, avoiding a blast of Jedah's power. He stopped, spinning in the air to look at the black-clad figure across the courtyard through half-lidded eyes. They'd played cat-and-mouse for a while now, ever so slowly heading back to the monastery in Diergat. Xellos was rather hoping that now that they had made it here, it would help remind Jedah of the things that he had once held dear.

"We really need to work on your temper… one might think you're trying to kill me!" Xellos hadn't started out worried, but he was starting to get to that point. He knew that Jedah wasn't using remotely near all of his power, knew that at any time, rank could be pulled and his actions commanded by Hellmaster. And if Hellmaster controlled him… Xellos didn't want to consider those consequences.

He side-stepped another bolt of power, deflecting it off of his arm as he moved a bit too slow, growling in pain and clutching it defensively. Jedah was out for more than mere sport, and the Trickster knew when he'd been bested.

"Jedaikun," Xellos called out across the courtyard, a note of resignation in his voice, "I'm sorry. I can't help you. I'm not strong enough." It took a good deal of his strength to admit it. He'd tried, offered himself as an outlet for Jedah's fury, but he was wearing down.

"But I am," said a voice, a figure in cream appearing behind Hellmaster, arms reaching up and around to embrace him, to hold him tightly against himself. It was Zelgadis, calm and powerful, a creature that made Xellos open his eyes and blink in surprise. He hadn't seen the change in the once-chimera, hadn't seen how he'd grown into his powers, learned to wear them comfortably as the extension of self that they were.

It impressed Xellos.

Jedah struggled hard against him, but Zelgadis held him tightly, leaning closer to speak in his ear with calm words. "Jedah, please, stop this madness. Destroying Xellos won't help you. It will only make things worse." Jedah tried to shift, tried to move away, but Zelgadis' magic shifted with him, moving both captor and captive. Zelgadis held him tighter, his eyes lifting and scanning the area for Xellos.

The Trickster Priest looked… old. It startled Zelgadis, and he growled, forcing Jedah to turn, forcing the unwilling chin higher, made him look towards Xellos. "Look, Jedah. Look at Xellos. _Look at him_." He had to force the next words out of his mouth, and they came out in a hiss. "Look at your lover. Is that what you want to do to him? Do you want to make him hurt the way you're hurting? He's done nothing except to support you, even when you asked him a question that hurt you both."

"He's never lied to you, Jedah. Not even when you asked him that impossible question." Zelgadis' words were low, hissed through clenched teeth and edged with anger, but they were also having the unexpected effect of making Xellos turn somewhat red in the face. "He told you the truth, knowing that it would hurt you both, and accepted your fury. He's accepting your fury now." Jedah thrashed violently, but Zelgadis had no intention of releasing him.

Closing his eyes and trusting his power to contain them both, Zelgadis pushed his thoughts to Jedah as Jedah had once done to him. _Jedah… please._ _There is something that I must tell you, something that you must know, but I need you to focus and hear me_. It was a gamble, Zelgadis knew it, but it was a gamble that had to be taken. He had the power to contain Jedah by force for a little while if he had to, and he would do his dead level best to contain any damage that Jedah might wish to wreak. If needed, he'd take that step towards claiming the power of the Avatar, even if it meant his own destruction at the hands of Luna.

As Xellos watched, Zelgadis leaned his head forwards slightly and closed his eyes. A strange sense of power built up, as if Jedah and Zelgadis were fighting on a far deeper level than Xellos could see. He watched as the pair hung in the air, watched as Jedah's magic struggled to find freedom and Zelgadis' blocked.

He felt lost and out of touch with the two as magics warred on levels that Xellos could only imagine. He felt a flash of something deep and powerful and could only watch helplessly as Jedah's eyes suddenly opened, a furious buildup of magic following, the full power of Hellmaster coming to command.

And then it vanished.

Gone, as if it had never been.

The silence accompanied the pair landing in the courtyard was absolute. Zelgadis continued to hold Jedah from behind, even though Jedah was no longer fighting. And while Jedah's eyes were open, Zelgadis' were still closed, a tear escaping from under one eyelid, running down his cheek. Xellos couldn't breathe, not that he needed to. It just seemed natural to hold his breath in anticipation.

After a moment, Zelgadis opened his eyes and looked off to the distance before lifting his head and looking to Xellos. _He needs you, Xellos. I've done what I could, but there is more that he needs._ It was all too clear that Jedah wasn't resisting, and Xellos knew what Zelgadis was telling him. Zelgadis had, after all referred to Xellos as Jedah's lover. Fighting the rush of emotion that tried to overwhelm him, Xellos descended to the courtyard and offered his hand to Jedah

After a tense moment, Zelgadis released Jedah, but stayed close, waiting to see what Jedah would do. When he simply stood there, Xellos stepped into Jedah's space, lifting his hand to the back of Jedah's neck. He whispered something in Jedah's ear, six words that at last provoked a reaction.

Zelgadis left before the kiss broke.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Lina had curled up in the bed, but sleep eluded her, and she tossed and turned while waiting for Zelgadis to come and find her here. She wasn't worried that he could find her; he knew where she went, even when she ran off for a wild bandit-chasing spree for a month. He'd always known where she was.

No, Lina was more concerned for what she had heard him mutter as he vanished. He'd said something that had sounded like he was going to check on something, and Lina could only surmise that it had been Jedah or Xellos. She hadn't been privy to the pulse of power that Zelgadis had sensed from so far away. She hadn't felt the tremor that had rippled through the world when Hellmaster had raged in fury.

When Zelgadis finally appeared, Lina sat up in the bed. "Zelgadis? What happened? Are you okay?" He looked tired, worn of body and spirit, even for a Mazoku. It worried her, and she sat forwards, looking up as she reached for him with both hands.

He reciprocated, taking her hands into his, looking hard at her for a moment in the darkness of the room before he pulled her up in to his embrace with a fierce tug. The kiss was intense, and his passion warred for a moment with his propriety, but at last propriety won over him.

Breaking the kiss and then the embrace, Zelgadis sighed heavily and shook his head. "Jedah nearly destroyed a town, Lina. I did what I could, but I'm afraid it wasn't good enough. I'm Mazoku, after all, and there are lines that even I can't cross." He'd wanted to do more, to heal people and help restore the buildings destroyed, but to force himself to do it would have cost far more of him in the long run.

Lina moved to hug him, but he put up his hand. "No, listen. Jedah had given himself completely over as Hellmaster. The things that I saw in his mind may never see the light of day, but they still remain. Lina nodded as he continued to speak. "When I caught him at last, it took more of my power than I was expecting."

It dawned on Lina what Zelgadis was saying. He needed to recover, to re-establish himself and knowing his nature as she did, she knew some of what he needed. "What can I do, Zel?" She'd long gotten used to beating on Zelgadis… even learned to enjoy it herself, to some extent. She just didn't think about it too much.

He smiled at her, his rare and gentle smile and she felt the familiar tingle of magic as it thrilled through her. Cupping her cheek with his hand, he leaned in and kissed her tenderly, speaking softly. "Sleep, Lina. This is not an evening that you need to burden your heart with. Sleep, and be here for Amelia when she calls you." His magic embraced her, easing her into a gentle sleep and he laid her back on the bed carefully, kissing her forehead as he did so.

Zelgadis knew that she'd yell at him for it later, but it was better that Lina didn't know what he would spend the evening doing. A part of him didn't want to know either, if all had to be told. It was his price for power, however, and while it wasn't gladly paid, it still won over being a broken chimera unable to live a life with more than a few rare stolen moments of happiness.

If there was one thing that Zelgadis was, it was a creature of habit. It had been his habit as a chimera to do things according to a plan. He'd planned to spend the evening with Lina, not attempting to rebuild his precious reserves of power. He'd not yet found what could completely restore him and not destroy his tightly held sense of humanity, for while he knew what could sate the Mazoku need and restore his powers… it was reprehensible to him.

He had been raised to protect, taught to be the guardian of other lives, a Shaman in tune with the world and lives around him. But the creature that he was now was beyond the simplicities that he had once thought so complex. He was Mazoku, and yet, he was so much more than that. He had that precious mortal heart that he had risked so greatly, left to be found by the woman to whom he had gifted it.

Lina had kept it safe, suffered its pain and the torment that it had known, shared with it that walk of death as he stumbled into the darkness with no light to be found. She'd been his light, calling him back from that madness, showing him the way out of that darkness and through the actions of one bound to protect her, had restored his heart and his faith to him.

Tonight, there was nothing for it but to block away that heart, to exercise his fine control and walk that dual-edged path of light and darkness, to do what had to be done. He could not exist without that power, without the spark of darkness that fueled the endless battle within his soul, and he dared not even try as Jedah had.

Vanishing from Saillune, he took to a port town, assuming the appearance of a youthful traveler, setting up the stage for his darker instincts to command. It wasn't long before he had offers for the most casual of relationships. He allowed the blush to tint his cheeks, returning a quip about how he couldn't choose from any one of them.

They rarely refused bait as rich as that, the three women who debased themselves for the coin that might cross their hands before it passed on to the bartender who granted them the oblivion of drink so that they could forget it all until the next night came and they returned to the docks like moths to a feeble flame.

Tonight, they would release him, and he in turn would release them from the hell that they lived within.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

They'd stood in the courtyard long after Zelgadis had left, and it occurred to Xellos that the roles in life had changed slightly. He was holding Jedah, very nearly cradling him in his arms. Though he had every right to be furious, to scream and throw magic and demand an apology… he found no desire for any of it.

He should have been angry for his imprisonment, even though he could have left at any time, could have played the jilted lover tossed over for another, for he had been. And yet… once again the Trickster Priest damned Zelgadis for his understanding.

The breeze blew through his hair, lifting purple strands and rippling through them. The silence was breathtaking, and Xellos moved slightly, lifting his cheek from Jedah's head and looking out across to the sky. The clouds were moving in, the promise of rain weighing them heavy and dark.

"It looks like we're about to get wet, Jedah. Come, let us retreat inside…" Xellos broke the embrace, taking Jedah's hand and leading him into the old residential wing where he had lived once upon a memory. Up the stairs and down the hall he led his silent and dark-haired companion, moving them to the room that was so important to them both.

When Jedah sat quietly on the edge of the bed, Xellos winced and knelt on the floor before him, looking up into those quiet eyes. "What happened, Jedah? What changed in the time that I was gone?" He didn't expect an answer, but he felt that it was important to ask. He still loved Jedah, after all was said and done, still saw the man that he had seen the day he'd turned around in the river.

Xellos was at a loss, uncertain what to do or what to say to Jedah, and so he rose from the floor, crossing to the desk and sitting at the chair, pulling out a pencil and paper as he would have done so very long ago. He hadn't drawn in longer than most mortals had lived, but it felt the most natural thing to do.

He sketched out the memory, a figure standing in the river, drawing only on his powers when he couldn't recall a detail, such as the buttons on Jedah's clothing. Bit by bit, he recreated the moment on paper, catching the light of the sun on the water, the highlights in Jedah's hair.

He paused to look to Jedah, though the other hadn't moved, hadn't looked up from his seat on the bed, and after a moment, Xellos turned back to the paper. He lined in the shadows on Jedah's face, illuminating his eyes that had glittered with so much brilliance and fire.

Right now, however, that spark of allure and mystery was dulled, lost within those eyes that would not rise to meet his gaze. _Jedaikun… I'm sorry. I failed you when you needed me most._ Xellos knelt before Jedah again and leaned forwards, resting his forehead on Jedah's knees. _You asked me a question, and I answered. But instead of supporting you, I grew jealous and tried to hold you tighter. All it did was push you away from me and I sulked. I wasn't there when it all fell apart. _He wasn't expecting anything, simply wanted that out in the open, unable to bring it to voice and offering his mind's touch instead.

For the first time since that kiss in the courtyard, Jedah reacted. His hand touched the back of Xellos' head, and Xellos looked up to see that Jedah was looking at him. The light was back in Jedah's eyes, though it looked tired and a little lost. A strange sensation rippled through Xellos, that first tingle of hope returning to him with a little thrill.

They stayed that way for a time, but at last, Xellos rose, sitting next to Jedah on the bed and lifting his hand to Jedah's face. His touch was light, gentle as he traced Jedah's cheek down to his jaw. He wouldn't say anything, didn't want to break the moment, instead willing to simply be with Jedah and offer him the support that hadn't been there sooner.

Jedah's hand lifted to Xellos' hand, fingers curling lightly around his palm and pulling his hand down. Before Xellos could become concerned, Jedah spoke in a softly whispered voice. "I missed you." It was simple, but it lit the room with an emotion far more brilliant than the light that was fading away to rain outside.

Xellos smiled reflexively, but the smile crept into a grin when his eyes met Jedah's and he saw that Jedah was looking at him with that sly little smile of his. "I've missed you as well." He gave Jedah's hand a slight squeeze, glancing down to watch as Jedah laced his fingers with his own.

"I want you to do something for me, Xellos." Jedah's words made Xellos look back up, but fingers were placed on Xellos' lips as Jedah continued. "Just listen, hear me out first, and then you can decide."

When Xellos nodded silently, Jedah lowered his fingers and spoke again. "I have lost something, forgotten a few things along my way, and I need you to help me remember them. If you think that you're willing to help me with that, just nod."

Xellos nodded, uncertain what it was that Jedah had lost, but if he could help Jedah in any way, he would. Damn Zelgadis all over again for being right. "Anything, Jedah, you know that. It doesn't even have to be a command." Right now, it didn't. Jedah could ask Xellos to walk to the end of the world and return with an Ancient Dragon's heart, and the Trickster Priest would do it willingly.

After what seemed like a small eternity of hesitation, Jedah leaned into Xellos, placing his lips against Xellos' ear to whisper softly, his breath distractingly warm. "You see, I've forgotten what it is to be gentle."

Xellos' reply was to turn, to lift his hand free from Jedah's, and to draw him close.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

The sun rose as it always had as it always would until L-Sama grew tired of the madness and reclaimed the Worlds back to the Sea of Chaos. Lina woke shortly after, rolling her eyes as the events prior to her sleep played back within her conscious mind. She loved the man dearly, but sometimes he needed more than a simple smack across the head.

A knock at her door caught her attention, and she rolled out of the bed and moved to open the door, startling the serving-girl who had come to leave a note. Amelia was expecting Lina in her private rooms, so please don't delay too long?

Lina sighed and nodded to the serving-girl, closing the door and dressing quickly as she wondered where Zelgadis was. He'd turn up when she least expected it, appear behind her and scare the hell out of her with twisted delight before turning all serious and disapproving.

Slipping out of her room and walking down the hallway towards the doors where the serving-girl stood waiting, Lina noticed the Palace was quiet. Very few staffers walked the halls of the residential wing, and those few who did were circumspect, unwilling to meet even Lina's eyes. She was not staff, and she had access to these halls, so she must have been important.

As Lina stepped through the door, she realized that the male voice that she was hearing speak quietly was Zelgadis. She came to a complete stop when her eyes settled on the sight of her husband sitting comfortably at the table with Amelia's daughter peacefully nestled into his arms. _You have to be kidding me, right?_ She thought as the walked up and shook her head. "This I just don't believe."

Zelgadis looked up and over, twisting his lips briefly at Lina. "Just because you've never seen me holding a child doesn't mean that I don't know how, Lina." His head dipped sharply as a small hand yanked on his hair, and he grinned back at Amelia. "She's good at that, Amelia. You could rent her out."

Amelia had forgotten the twisted humor that ran hand-in-hand with Zelgadis and his bewildering nature. She rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything in response. Instead, she turned to look to Lina and wave her to the table of food. "I had them prepare extra. Please help yourself."

Lina approached warily, casting an incredulous look back and forth between the unlikely pair of Zelgadis and Erina and the solitary and still unreadable figure of Amelia. "I guess I'm late to the party, as usual. What did I miss?" She sat, taking a plate and filling it with food, waiting for someone to talk.

"Zelgadis and I were going over what you and I spoke about last night, Lina." Amelia watched as Zelgadis untangled Erina's fingers from his hair and stifled a laugh when he discovered that her other hand had clutched a different lock of hair while he wasn't looking.

"Ow… you'd give Xellos a run for his annoyances, Erina." Zelgadis muttered, teasing his hair free and using his magic to pull his hair behind him, out of her reach. "I have a question, though, Amelia… what happened at that dinner?" He'd heard Jedah mention it, saw it in Jedah's heart, and he wanted to hear Amelia's side of the story.

Amelia turned scarlet, but she nodded. "I will tell you because we've been through too much together for me to conceal it." She pushed her own plate aside, taking up the goblet and sipping from it slowly as she considered where to begin.

"I suppose, looking back on it, I was being petty and childish. Jedah and I were so close, dangerously so. Before the dinner with Slidell, I'd asked that he maintain a little more formal distance with me. I was trying to foster good relations with Slidell for the future, and it would not have looked proper for Jedah to be too close."

She paused, seeing the evening in her mind as she had done more often than she cared to admit. "He quipped that he was supposed to protect me from harm and predators. I was all too aware that the majority of my advisors wished to see me wed, and I'm afraid I snapped at Jedah. I told him that didn't need his protection, and he didn't even come to the dinner."

Zelgadis had split his attention between Amelia and her daughter, casting the odd glance off towards Lina. Fortunately for him, Erina settled in and fell asleep, allowing him to relax some. While sleeping, she couldn't be reaching for his hair. "So if he didn't go to the dinner, what happened?"

"In a fit of childish impulse, I had too much wine with dinner." Amelia sighed, looking to her daughter as she slept in Zelgadis' arms. "Jedah came into the library where Kyle and I had retired, discovered that I was quite beyond tipsy, and decided the evening was to end." In her mind, she could still see those blue eyes filled with concern as Jedah had tried to protect her. She hadn't seen it that way then.

"I argued with Jedah, and though he acted the perfect gentleman, I slapped him, commanded him from the library and banished him from my sight until I requested his presence." Unable to meet Lina or Zelgadis' eyes, Amelia looked into her goblet, studying the juice for a moment before taking another sip. "And then, to further compound the issue, when Kyle made advances towards me later, I didn't refuse him."

Silence settled in the room for a few moments, and after another few sips of her juice, Amelia shook her head. "The following afternoon, Kyle departed for Slidell and Jedah was nowhere to be found. Shortly after, I realized that I was pregnant, and that Jedah and I could never be as close as we had been. I went to Slidell, offered terms of marriage to Kyle, and the rest is what you learned earlier."

"That night," Zelgadis began quietly. "Jedah had a fight with Xellos and caught up to us." A great many things made sense to him, and he found himself looking down at the child who had been the cause, even though it wasn't remotely her fault.

How in the world could Jedah not know? Lina rolled her eyes and got dressed, looking around the room for her cloak before she remembered that she hadn't brought it.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Sometimes it was up to Zelgadis to ask hard questions, this time it was up to Lina. "Amelia, why hasn't Kyle moved to Saillune? You are, after all, married... what is keeping him in Slidell?" Lina decided she'd had enough to eat and pushed her plate away.

This time it was Zelgadis' turn to lift his eyes and look across the table at Lina in surprise. He was generally the one who had to ask those sort of questions, and it always a price to when Lina did. Amelia's reaction was well worth the question however, for neither Lina nor Zelgadis expected her to stand up and walk across the room.

"As I mentioned before, Kyle is young." Amelia deliberately avoided looking back at Lina and Zelgadis, even though Zelgadis was still holding her daughter. She could well imagine the expressions on their faces without having to see them. "Before you ask, and he will be fifteen next month, which was another reason we were waiting to make the announcement."

Zelgadis spluttered, and Lina couldn't blame him. Amelia had a good eight years on her husband, no wonder she was embarrassed! But Lina grinned, shrugging as she attempted to take things in stride. "Well, Amelia, you certainly won't have to worry about him wanting a younger woman when he gets older..."

If Zelgadis had not been holding Erina, he would have hit the floor. Leave it to Lina to come up with a bizarre way of telling Amelia that somehow things would work out. He cast a long look across the table, attempting to catch his wife's eye, but Lina knew better, and wasn't looking in his direction.

Amelia's cheeks turned scarlet. She knew what Lina was saying, but it was still a source of embarrassment. Try as she might, she couldn't think of a way to conceal his age from the people of Saillune. "While I appreciate your candor, Lina, it does nothing to help the potentially explosive situation I will face when people discover how old Kyle is."

"Amelia, you are their Queen; they should not have that much power over you." Zelgadis said, shifting Erina carefully in his lap. "If you are happy with him, then choose to be happy with him. People will see that you are happy, and in turn will be happy as well."

Amelia turned to look to Zelgadis with a sad little smile. "Perhaps you are right, old friend. Perhaps I worry too much." Her gaze traveled to her daughter, who was now fast asleep and drooling on Zelgadis' lap. With a wry smile, she met his eyes. "Are you certain that you're Mazoku?" Amelia was as good at giving as she was getting.

Zelgadis looked up with a rakish grin. Amelia didn't want to know just how Mazoku he was. "Positive, Your Highness. I just happen to be in a good mood right now." He wouldn't have been in the room if he hadn't. He did wonder however, at the fact that she hadn't immediately leapt to the defense over if she liked Kyle. But he wasn't asking.

Lina had noted the obvious lack of enthusiasm, and realized with a sinking pit in her stomach that Amelia was making the best of the tragic situation. She knew that Amelia loved her daughter, the proof of that was irrefutable. Lina knew that Amelia would do anything to protect Saillune, even marrying a man she didn't love.

It nearly broke Lina's heart.

The awkwardness of breakfast thus smoothed over, Amelia had collected her daughter from Zelgadis and sent the pair of them out while she prepared for the official start of her day. Lina had known that Zelgadis was likely to blow up at her the moment they were out of Amelia's hearing, so she kept up a steady stream of chatter as they went back to the room where Lina's things were.

"…and I think that Erina's just adorable and likely to captivate the hearts of everyone that meets her, don't you think, Zel…?" Her voice trailed off as she saw the expression on his face.

Before he could say anything, Lina lifted her hand, closed the door, and turned back to him. "Zel, don't. You saw exactly what I saw. You know that she doesn't love Kyle Slidell. Amelia made a mistake and she's making the best of it. We have no place to judge or to condemn her."

"She loves Jedah, I know that, Lina. I also know that her fear that Jedah could turn on her is a very real one. She's caught on an emotional tightrope, and it's her daughter on the line. Amelia doesn't care what happens to Amelia, but she's dedicated her heart and her soul to that little girl. I rather suspect that Jedah knows, too." Zelgadis sighed, not at all surprised that Lina would think he was going to fuss with her.

Lina looked to Zelgadis as he shook his head and sighed. She didn't know what to say, didn't know that she could offer anything that might have made any sort of difference. She wasn't capable of the magic that he was, but then she balanced him out in other ways.

"I think he knew, and he stayed long after he could have left so that he could protect them both." Zelgadis had seen the darker side of Jedah, yes. But he had also seen that light that hid within the darkness, that glint of Jedah's heart. "He was, and still is, quite devoted to Amelia, even after that night. I doubt he'll ever tell her, and I sincerely doubt that she'd give him the chance to do so publicly."

The knock at the door kept Zelgadis from replying, and he turned to see the serving-girl smiling apologetically. "My apologies, Lord Greywords, but Her Majesty wishes to inform you and the Lady Greywords that she will be unavailable until lunch. She invites you to enjoy the morning at your leisure and join her in the gardens for the meal."

As the door closed, Lina looked to Zelgadis with a small smile. "The price of royalty." She placed her things back on the table and tilted her head. "Do you think that you ought to check on Jedah?"

Zelgadis didn't even consider it, shaking his head and offering his hand to her. "No, he's in very capable hands. Let's just enjoy the morning. I think a walk in the gardens would be nice."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Lina and Zelgadis walked the palace gardens, a comfortable silence between them. She was lost in thought about Amelia and her daughter when Zelgadis stopped them both and looked to Lina with that shy little grin of his that she loved so much.

"What?" She asked, looking up at him questioningly. They'd stopped near the pond that had, oddly enough, figured in so often in their lives. She turned to look across the garden for a moment, looking up to the Palace wall, and then glancing back to Zelgadis.

"Strange, isn't it?" He asked, looking at the water for a moment before turning back to her. "How often our lives have changed right here at this pond." He gestured at the pond, watching her eyes flicker across the water.

"I met Jedah here, the very first time. He brought me that pendant." Lina remembered how young and awkward he'd looked... not at all the Mazoku Lord he eventually confessed to being. It seemed so very long ago, even though it had been less than five years.

Zelgadis nodded, continuing to trace the paths created at this pond. "I asked you to marry me here. Amelia and Jedah planned that stupid ball and I brought you out here afterwards." It hadn't been the first time he'd asked, but it had been the time that she'd answered. She'd dropped her wine and kissed him, a kiss that he could still taste when he remembered.

"Some places make good nexus points, Zel. I wouldn't be at all surprised to find this area had once been the site of a powerful white magic spell during the wars." Lina walked over to the pond, looking for fish.

"You forgave me here, Zelgadis, and again I find that I must stand here and ask once more." Jedah appeared to the side of them, hands clasped behind him. He looked embarrassed, like a child who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "I nearly hurt Lina back there, and for that," he dropped to one knee, "I apologize."

Zelgadis was, for lack of a better way to put it, stunned flat. As such, it was Lina who stepped forwards, Lina who put out both hands and tugged Jedah to his feet and hugged him. "You didn't hurt me, Jedah. You startled me, but your oath to protect me was true."

Lina released Jedah, and looked to him for a moment. "The first time we met was right here, do you remember, Jedah? Right here by this pond. You gave me the pendant, and I sent you to Amelia." She watched his eyes flicker with the memory. "And I'm going to do it again, going to send you to Amelia because the two of you need to have some closure."

Jedah stepped backwards, looking at Zelgadis. "I… I don't think that I can do that. I…overstepped my bounds, and I'm not exactly welcome any longer." He hadn't told them about that night, hadn't told them what he'd done. How could they know? Had Amelia told them? "She threw me out."

"She was drunk." Zelgadis countered, glancing to Lina as he moved to rest his arm casually on Jedah's shoulder, effectively countering any chance Jedah had of simply leaving. "Even I don't tangle with a woman when she's drunk too much. Lina, go see if Amelia is available while Jedah and I have a chat?"

Lina had left the two in the garden, and headed for the Palace once more, finding a servant and asking after Amelia, indicating it was important. After a few minutes, the man returned with news that Amelia was in her workroom, and would see Lina.

Lina thanked the servant, and climbed the staircase, turning to walk down the hallway towards the room where she had been told Amelia was working when someone came running around the corner, a blur of arms and legs that were unable to stop in time. "Oof!" Lina was knocked flat to the ground, and it took a moment to collect her thoughts.

A figure sat up from beside her, bouncing to his feet with a sound of alarm. "Oh! I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention… here, let me help." His accent was odd, a soft southern lilt, and he offered her his hand to help her to her feet.

"Thanks," Lina said as she took his hand and looked up to see who had bowled into her. He was young, with sandy blonde hair and brown eyes, freckles dashed across his cheeks. He looked like one of the servant's children, and Lina tilted her head. "I don't think I've seen you here before. I'm Lina Greywords."

His eyes widened, and he grinned brightly, the infectious grin of youth. "It's an honor to meet the legendary sorceress! I'm Kyle Slidell." The name may as well have turned into bricks and landed on Lina's head one letter at a time. Kyle Slidell. This snot-nosed kid was the father of Amelia's child, soon to be announced as King of Saillune?

Lina suddenly understood Amelia's quandary. The people were hardly likely to accept this… spindly youth as their king, let alone anything beyond an amusement of the Queen's for whatever reasons she may have had. "Oh! Amelia told me you were coming. I should congratulate you on your good fortune." She loathed pleasantries.

"Yeah," he grinned, his nose wrinkling in a way that Lina might have said was endearing… except for the fact that he acted even less mature than Amelia had when Lina had first met the girl who would be Queen. "It's funny how things work out, isn't it? I won't keep you, but I couldn't let the moment pass without a chance to greet the most famous sorceress of our day."

Lina watched in semi-stunned silence as the youth walked off with the air and grace of a pompous popinjay. As far as she was concerned, Lina would have had to have had an entire bottle of strong Zefilian wine by herself to have entertained getting close to Kyle, let alone anything else! Her hand felt slimy, dirtied by his touch, and she hoped Amelia had a washbin in her workroom so that Lina could wash off the memory of Kyle's touch.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

"Zelgadis, there's no way that I can do that!" Jedah said, freeing himself from the casual touch and watching Lina walk towards the Palace. "Amelia told me to leave… she told me not to return to her until she summoned me. I don't see that changing any time soon."

"Jedah," Zelgadis sighed, forcing himself patient. "Things have changed. You've changed, she's changed. It's the only thing that is constant in life, so get used to it and move on. You're the one who had the audacity to tell me to stop living in the past… aren't you doing the exact same thing now?"

Silence marked the moment, and Jedah turned back to look over the water. "You are right, of course." He moved to the bench and sat on it, burying his head in his hands. "By Shabranigdo, Zelgadis… how do you do it? How do you balance that dichotomy of loving a mortal?"

Zelgadis sighed, sitting on the grass next to the bench and looking out at the clouds above them. He knew that it was because he had thought himself a mortal and therefore had lived as one. "I lived as a mortal for longer than you have. You've lived as a Mazoku longer than I, so in that sense, we each have opposite experiences."

"I do love her, Zelgadis." Jedah said quietly, looking up to see the clouds that had captured Zelgadis' attention. "I'd give it up to be with her if it were remotely possible. I'd turn my back on the power, on the ageless existence. I'd grow old with her, laugh with her, cry with her… even die with her." His words were quiet, unexpected, and he felt Zelgadis' gaze on him.

"There's no turning from what we are, Jedah. You know that. One day, Lina will leave my side, and while I know it to be true, I also know nothing will prepare me for that day. You've been mourning, Jedah. It's a perfectly normal human reaction to a loss, be it by death or sheer impossibility." Zelgadis said calmly, watching Jedah turn his head and look back to him. "The only difference here is that you can salvage some sort of relationship with Amelia, but you have to be willing to try."

"You think that it's possible." It wasn't a question, for Jedah knew that Zelgadis wasn't the kind to stretch too far into the realm of possible. Jedah had been the one to show Zelgadis his path… and now Zelgadis was trying to light Jedah's for him in return. "All right, damn it. If she'll see me, I'll talk to her. I'll try to find some comfortable middle ground."

"I think Amelia would like that, Jedah. She may have Erina, but that's just not enough. From what she has indicated, Slidell isn't the sort of man that can be depended upon in a crisis." Zelgadis had no idea that Lina had encountered Slidell and come to much the same conclusion.

"What?" Jedah looked to Zelgadis questioningly. "I've met Slidell, and he's a pleasure-seeking youth who doesn't care for anything beyond the delights that power and money can buy. He's not the kind to remain faithful or true. But who is Erina?"

Zelgadis hated being the one who always broke news to people. Yes, he was good at it, but it didn't always make it enjoyable, even when one took into his Mazoku nature. "Erina is Amelia's daughter, Jedah."

Inside Amelia's workroom, Lina had washed her hands without offering an explanation. After Amelia had called for tea, Lina sat next to the cradle, idly watching Erina sleep as she spoke quietly. "Jedah's here, Amelia. He's with Zelgadis, but I really think he wanted to see you, see how you were. And while you are free to tell me to butt out and get out… I think it would be good for the two of you to talk."

Amelia put her pen down, looking at the paper for a moment before she lifted her eyes to Lina. "I think you're right, Lina. I do want to talk to him, to apologize for my behavior, but I'm afraid of him. I'm afraid of the truth of him, the fact that he is Hellmaster. He has so much more power than you, I, or even Zelgadis. How can I stand there and possibly anger him?"

Lina looked to Amelia for a moment, wondering how well Amelia truly knew Jedah. "Amelia, when he took that oath to protect me, he swore his existence to it. Didn't he take an oath to serve and protect you as well? He loves you, Amelia, and through everything we've done, everything that we've been through, he's protected you. He was trying to protect you that night, too."

_Amelia, this could be something that you regret for the rest of your life…_

Jedah's voice echoed in Amelia's memory, and she sighed softly, ringing the bell for a servant, taking up her pen again to complete the document before her. It was only moments before a servant entered, and without looking up from her writing, Amelia spoke. "You will find Advisor Jedah downstairs in the gardens with Lord Greywords. When you do, lead him to my private gardens in the Residential Wing."

Lina watched the servant force her face straight as she curtsied and turned to leave the room. As the door closed, Lina looked back to Amelia, seeing the younger woman resting her head on the desk for a moment. "Amelia… I'm not the best with children, but if you want someone to watch Erina for you, I'll do the best I can."

Amelia lifted her head, standing and moving to the cradle and looking to her daughter. "I think I'd like him to see her. I hadn't exactly told him, and I don't know if he'd heard the Palace scuttlebutt about her." She reached into the cradle, collecting her daughter, who instinctively curled into her mother's arms. "He should know that he was right in some cases."

Lina watched as Amelia moved for the door, and she jumped up, running across the room and holding the door open. "I'll say good luck, even though you don't need it. You'll be fine, and we'll see you at lunch."

Amelia offered a faint smile, and hurried down the hallway, determined to get to the garden before Jedah.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

He stood at the doorway to the private garden, a figure of trepidation with butterflies in his chest. Why did it seem so terrifying to cross that threshold, to step into the garden where she stood? He could see her standing there with her back to the entrance; saw her hair drawn long down her back, pinned by a golden clip. She stood calmly, at ease with her surroundings, her arms held in front of her. It was strange, the details that he noted, how his gaze flickered over everything, taking it all in as he spent the moment between heartbeats trying to move.

His foot lifted, moved forwards, fell to the floor with a soft sound of leather against stone, and as she turned, he found the momentum to continue walking into the room, each step solidifying his resolve until she had turned completely and he was within reach. She didn't reach for him, however, for she couldn't. Her daughter was nestled in her arms, and it took him aback for a moment. There was the confirmation, the unavoidable proof that they didn't belong together, _couldn't_ belong together.

"Amelia…" His voice didn't so much break as simply fade out, and he swallowed, steadying his thoughts, and tried again. "Amelia, you look good." She did look good; her eyes were bright and full, just as he remembered them. "You haven't… you haven't changed. That's good." He scratched at his neck, painfully aware of how awkward he seemed. This wasn't how he wanted to talk with her, wasn't how he had planned to interact with her at all.

The silence in the garden was so thick Jedah might have been able to cut it with a knife, if he had been one to use knives. It was a few more awkward heartbeats before he decided that Amelia simply wasn't going to say anything. "Yes, well, I suppose I should wish you the best of luck..." Again, his voice failed him and he closed his eyes for a moment, refocusing. He clenched his left fist, bringing it to his stomach and holding it tightly against himself, forcing himself not to reach out and touch her cheek the way he wanted to.

How the hell had he thought he could do this? How had he remotely considered that he could stand there and look her in the eye and say that he was happy for her? How could he, when he wasn't the one that she'd move forwards with? The answer came to him as simple as the coo from the small child in Amelia's arms. He could do it because he loved her and her happiness was important to him.

Before Jedah could say anything else, Amelia stepped forwards, working through her initial shock. "Jedah, it's good to see you. Please, stay a moment here, with me?" He had said she hadn't changed, said she looked good. She could not say the same for him. He had changed, though the how wasn't anything she could readily identify. He looked older, sadder somehow than she ever thought he could, a strange shadow hanging over him.

His eyes flickered up to hers for a moment, and for that moment she wasn't sure he'd stay. But that moment passed, and he simply nodded, unable to give voice to his acceptance to her request. When the child gurgled, his attention was drawn to her, and Amelia watched the nervousness fade to an amazed sort of wonder.

"Her name is Erina," Amelia offered, taking the chance to try to talk to him without the strained nervousness in the way. If there was a way to break through the strange shell that Jedah had drawn around himself, perhaps Erina could find it where Amelia could not.

He stared at the child, as if entranced, and as if awakened by the gaze of a stranger, Erina opened her eyes and looked back at him, her own innocent fascination glittering brightly. She blinked several times, as if trying to ascertain his nature, staring at him quite seriously before smiling, as if he had just told her a joke. She squealed into laughter, a sudden sound that surprised even Amelia.

"I think she likes you, Jedah," Amelia said, watching as Erina giggled herself delightedly into a sitting position and waving her hands out towards Jedah, who looked just as surprised as Amelia did. Perhaps Erina was the key to touching Jedah's heart once more. If some sort of friendship could be salvaged from this, Amelia would take it.

"She's… amazing, so small…" Jedah reached out, moving forwards reflexively, brushing his fingertip lightly across the child's cheek. "She's a special kind of magic all of her own…" Erina fell silent, and he realized what he'd done, taking two quick steps backwards, looking down self-consciously. "I'm…sorry. I wouldn't hurt her, Amelia. She's a part of you and I could never…" His voice gave way once more, and he clutched his fist to his stomach again. "I should go; this isn't working."

This hurt so badly, a terrible pain in his heart, as if the old scar that had faded were trying to score itself across his chest once more with burning and breathtaking pain that threatened to turn him into Hellmaster once more. He knew that he was losing control to it, knew that he had to leave, even though it would likely destroy any chance of a future friendship with Amelia and her daughter. But there was nothing that he could do beyond leaving before the pain ripped his heart in half and left everything he cared about forever shattered.

"No Jedah, don't go, not yet." Amelia stepped forwards, but she could see him fading from sight even as she did so. "I wanted to tell you… wanted you to know…" He was gone without ever truly meeting her eyes, without giving her the chance to say what she had wanted to say so badly. "I wanted to ask if you'd forgive me…" She whispered to the air, cradling her daughter closer. Erina was all she had left to love that would truly love her back.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

The figure that slipped into the room was tall, silent as she listened to Lina explain her encounter with Kyle Slidell to Zelgadis. She had no illusions that Zelgadis hadn't sensed her arrival; she simply waited until Lina was finished, and they'd both turned to see her.

Gracia, Naga to her friends, stood silently for a moment before she walked towards Lina and Zelgadis, her blue eyes flashing with annoyance. "So she made arrangements for that slimy little bastard to come to Saillune." It was immediately clear what Naga thought of Kyle Slidell.

"Naga… be careful. He's going to be the king… you probably shouldn't insult him like that, even if he isn't in the room. It'll get back to him somehow, I'm sure." Lina cautioned, but the look on Naga's face gave her pause.

"It's not an insult if it's true, Lina. He's not Slidell's son. It's probably why they're so eager to get him married off to Amelia. He'll gain rank and a name, and the blame will be removed from his mother." Naga replied. "Slidell never was much for restraining his wife."

"It's too late, Naga." Zelgadis spoke quietly. "Amelia said that they were married." He knew Naga had been traveling as liaison to various places, all across the continent, but he'd been certain that Amelia had kept her sister in the loop.

It shocked both Lina and Zelgadis when Naga started to laugh, a full laugh, not her normal one that left those within hearing cringing. "There's no marriage there. Nothing has happened between the two of them; she won't let him close enough for that."

"What about his daughter, Erina?" Lina asked, bewildered. "Amelia told us what happened that night at that dinner. That she'd had too much to drink and fought with Jedah in the library. She said she hadn't refused Kyle's advances."

Naga looked at Lina for a moment and shook her head again, clearly telling Lina that was wrong. "I was in the library that night, Lina. I watched Amelia and Kyle walk in, leaning on each other, tipsier than they should have been." Naga smirked at the expression on Lina's face. "What sort of older sister would I be if I wasn't there for my younger sister?"

"One who wasn't where she was supposed to be, obviously. If you were there, what truly happened between Amelia and Kyle?" Zelgadis asked, folding his arms and looking at Naga skeptically. He had what he'd thought were both sides of the story. If Naga purported a third version… which was to be believed?

From her shadow, Naga watched the door open, Jedah mere moments behind the laughing drunken pair. "My Queen, it seems that the evening has been quite agreeable. Perhaps it might be wiser to call it an evening and retire. I am certain that Lord Slidell would agree." Naga could hear the unspoken 'if he knows what's best.'

But Amelia waved a tipsy hand at Jedah in reply. "No, I'm quite enjoying myself, Lord Greywords. I have no need for your assistance." She turned to follow Slidell to the loveseat, and Naga shifted in her shadow to keep her eyes on the pair.

To Naga's astonishment, Jedah reached out, taking Amelia gently by the arm, his voice low as she turned to look at him. "Amelia, you're drunk. Please, I'm only trying to protect you. Come…" Jedah tried to lead Amelia to the door, but the younger girl had frozen.

When Amelia spoke, it was with a chill in her voice that froze even Naga. "How _dare_ you? Unhand me! I have warned you time and again about your familiarity with me, and I have had enough! Go; I do not wish to see you again. Leave my sight and do not return until I call you."

Jedah tried one last time, resisting the glare Amelia shot at him, opening his mouth, only to receive a stinging slap across his face that clearly shocked him speechless. "I said leave me!" Amelia shouted at Jedah, glaring at him hotly, anger temporarily clearing off the effects of the alcohol.

As Naga watched, Jedah looked to Amelia, his eyes turning sadly down as he offered his half-bow. "As my Queen commands, so shall it be." His voice was a ragged whisper, a shocked sound that echoed in Naga's heart. There was magic used in those words, an unvoiced oath given. She knew that Amelia would have to request his presence before he'd return to her.

He turned, leaving Amelia to cross to the loveseat and sit cozily up against Slidell. Naga's stomach tied into knots as she silently wove a spell to cast sleep over Slidell, but after a few clumsy attempts to kiss Amelia's neck, his head lolled into her as he succumbed to the effects of the drink.

"I ended up casting the sleep spell on Amelia, and secreting her away to her rooms. I had a servant collect Slidell later and take him to the guest suites, and that was the end of it. In the morning, he left with his entourage." Naga finished, shrugging. "Nothing happened between them, and any marriage that she may have entered with him is in name only, if that."

Lina pinched the bridge of her nose. "Then I have some very important questions, Naga. First, why does Amelia think that she had an evening tryst with Slidell, and more importantly: whose child is Erina, if not Slidell's?" It certainly wasn't paying to be delicate around the Palace lately, and Lina never had been the paragon of tact.

Naga shook her head at Lina. "She had to have dreamed the visit with the influence of the alcohol. I know nothing happened because I stayed with her in the event that Slidell woke and tried to access her rooms. As for Erina…"

Zelgadis closed his eyes. Too many things had become painfully clear to him, among them the sudden departure of Jedah from the Palace. "Damn." He hadn't meant to speak it, but he did, and both women turned to look to him. He opened his eyes to find them both looking at him, and sighed. "It didn't go well. Jedah's gone."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

Jedah had intended to go to Diergat, to escape the Palace of Saillune once more, but he found the walls of his former room in the Palace solidifying around himself. Frowning, he reached out towards Diergat with his magic, finding the path blocked. He turned; eyes alight with fury as he registered Zelgadis' arrival. "Let me leave, Zelgadis. It's not safe for me to be here. I can't be here any longer, you may know how to live and love, but I do not, and I can't risk harming Amelia."

Zelgadis' answer was to reach into his pocket and pull the gemstone out, throwing it at Jedah with surprising force. "You damned fool. Did you know the entire time? Is that why you made the sapphire? Some way to secure Amelia's happiness: by allowing her to marry someone that she doesn't love!" Fury filtered through Zelgadis' words as he stalked towards Jedah. "What in the name of Shabranigdo were you thinking?"

Jedah caught the stone, throwing it to the floor, watching it slide to a stop on the floor, spinning to glare back at Zelgadis with equal heat in his eyes. "I was trying to protect her, Zelgadis! She may not have loved Slidell, but at the very least, he's a normal human! He won't accidentally bring it all down around him in flames." He was furious that Zelgadis had taken the stone. If not for that, this moment might have been different, as far as he was concerned.

"No, he'd destroy her in a different way, Jedah. Slidell isn't in this for love. He's in it for the power and the money. He couldn't care less about the people of Saillune. He doesn't care about Amelia or Erina, either." Zelgadis took his gamble and rolled with it, closing the distance between himself and Jedah, speaking into the other Mazoku's ear with an almost intimate move. "Erina. Your daughter, Jedah. Another one of your damned impossibilities that can't be explained."

It was as if the fire in the room had turned to ice, the silence of voice and magic nearly absolute. Neither Jedah nor Zelgadis moved, neither touching the other, but so close they may as well have been. It was Jedah who moved, stumbling backwards a few steps to look at Zelgadis, all color drained from his face.

"My… she… no, she can't be. It's not possible…" The words seemed so feeble. His life was a series of impossibilities and improbabilities. Why hadn't it occurred that this was just one more of them? "Oh, Mother of all Chaos… what have I done?" The words were a whisper as Jedah swayed for a moment and then sat hard upon the floor.

Zelgadis couldn't be kind. It simply wasn't in his nature any longer. He strode over to Jedah, looking down at the youthful seeming figure, and reached down, taking Jedah's shirt by the shoulder, tearing it away with an angry gesture. The scar, the manifestation of Jedah's guilt, glared brightly scarlet against the pale skin. "I've had enough. I wash my hands of you, Hellmaster Jedaikun. You'll have to find somebody else to play your patsy." It made the moment all the more poignant that Zelgadis simply faded from the room.

Jedah sat on the floor, keenly aware of a few precious things. First, he could hear his heart beating softly, a strangely lonely sound that seemed to echo in his ears. Secondly, the sapphire was dead, the magic pulled out of it, spell fragmented to the ether. Thirdly, and perhaps the most important thing that he was aware of, was that he wasn't alone in that room. Someone had come to the open door and was looking in at him.

His gaze slid up off of the sapphire, across the floor to the doorway and up the doorjamb until he thought he was reasonably close to eye-level of whoever it was who had come to find him here. He overestimated a bit and had to look down some to settle his gaze on Amelia, who stood there with Erina – his daughter – in her arms.

Jedah wasn't a creature who cared overly much for his looks, but he knew where her gaze had locked, knew that garish scar had shot painfully once more across his chest. He drew a shirt around him with his magic, calling it in place without bothering to move. "My apologies, Your Highness, for being improperly dressed in your presence. Come to point, I probably should depart. I do not wish to harm you or… Erina." His voice tried to fail him, but he caught it and gave her name breath.

Amelia said nothing, but she entered the room, moving across the floor with steady steps, kneeling when she came close and looked to him quietly. "Jedah, please. Stay a moment. There is something that I wanted to ask you, something that I needed to know." She shifted Erina in her arms as she looked to Jedah sadly. "Can you ever forgive me? I hurt you that night, and for that I am sorry. I was drunk, you were right, and there was no way that you should have listened to me…"

Jedah brought his finger to Amelia's lips, shushing her with the silent motion. "I never blamed you, Amelia. I know that I was being too overbearing. Unfortunately, it had the exact effect that I was trying to avoid. I pushed you farther away from me and for that I am sorry." He lowered his hand, pulling back so that there was a proper space between them. "As for listening to you, I swore to that in Krimzon. My oaths given are done so as Hellmaster. By my own words, I am bound."

There had to be a way to survive this, there had to be. Amelia couldn't give up Jedah without a fight, didn't want him to leave her. Even for the time that he remained within the tower rooms, she'd felt his presence as a reassuring comfort. "Then say you'll stay, Jedah. Tell me that you won't vanish and leave me with a man that I neither love nor desire." The note of desperation in Amelia's voice pulled hard on Jedah's heart as tears filled her eyes. "Please… don't leave us."


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One

Lina looked to Naga as Zelgadis faded from sight. "Erina's not Slidell's child. She's Jedah's. That's it, isn't it?" The realization had hit her moments before Zelgadis had cursed, a sharp tingle of electricity running through her as the implications of that slammed into place. "Holy Cepheid, Naga." For the first time in Lina's memory, she was completely and totally out of words.

"There are a lot of things that you don't know, Lina. Amelia's a figurehead. She always has been. The true power of Saillune is held by the Council of Advisors, which I head. That's why I couldn't be crowned: to prevent families such as Slidell from being able to wrest power away." Naga said quietly as she turned and walked across the room. "It's the secret to how the country has stayed steady."

Lina's brain was starting to hurt. "So you're the true leader of Saillune. I can handle that. It's a strange thought to think that the woman who drove me insane with her rampantly miserable magic is the ruler of a country, but I think I can wrap my brain around that one." She lifted a hand to her head and cast a minor healing spell. "What I can't grasp is why Amelia wants Kyle Slidell."

"She doesn't, Lina. She's still acting the scorned woman, choosing Slidell because he showed a hint of interest, even though he's just in it for the power. She's doing everything that she can to catch Jedah's attention. I wasn't here, so I can't say if that is Jedah's child or not. I was busy chasing shadows across the continent, securing trade routes and fostering good relations for Saillune." The thought of Erina being Jedah's daughter set Naga's teeth on edge. A Mazoku child wasn't something that Saillune needed.

"Can this get any more screwed up?" Lina asked in exasperation. "Amelia's a mother, Queen in name only and in love with a Mazoku Lord while professing to be married to a snot-nosed power-grubbing weasel." She suddenly longed for those lazy afternoons where she'd looked over at Zelgadis and complained that there was nothing to do except go blast a few bandits and even that was getting old. "Don't even get me started on Jedah… if you ask me, they're well suited for each other without a shred of maturity between them."

Naga gave Lina a baleful expression. "Don't curse me like that, Lina! I don't want this! The last thing that I need or want underfoot is a Mazoku Lord and his child, if she is his child. I haven't ratified the marriage to Slidell; that can be dissolved with little effort. But you're right: if those two don't settle things between them both, I'll have to step forwards, act in my capacity as Head Advisor and dethrone Amelia. And if I have to do that… then Saillune lacks a Queen." Naga didn't want that.

Zelgadis chose that precise moment to reappear, fury evident in his eyes. "I'm going to lock them both in a small room and not let either of them out until they've decided what they're going to do about how they feel. By Shabranigdo, he's worse than I am!"

The outburst earned him a droll look from Lina, who turned to her husband with arms folded, and then glanced back to Naga for a moment. "You know, for a moment there, Naga, I was starting to feel a little better about my own relationship." She turned to look at Zelgadis and smirked. "Oh, sure, Mister 'I don't know who or what I am, so I'm going to skulk around in black and pretend it's not me.' I, for one, am completely convinced that you two are related!"

It was a little too much for Naga, who gave into her initial reaction and turned on both Lina and Zelgadis. "Out. Both of you, out. Just go. I don't care where; just leave me alone while I try to sort some logic out of this mess that your half-Mazoku hearts have turned into my home." She moved to Lina, pushing the sorceress towards her husband. "Go. Please."

Zelgadis sidestepped and looked at Naga with a piercing gaze for a moment, and frowned. "A rumor confirmed. It's been suspected that you were the power behind Saillune for some time now. I understand that now. Amelia is the one that the people see, the face that they need to love. You pull the strings from the shadows and enjoy the anonymity that you could never have otherwise. It is a shrewd setup of power."

Naga stopped pushing the pair of them out and looked to Zelgadis. "Jedah throws the balance off. I'm sorry that she loves him, sorrier still that she can't be with him. But she has to do what is proper, not what is always in line with the desires of her heart. And what is proper is to find someone that she can tolerate who carries a lineage of name." Naga couldn't change that. She could help choose the one Amelia would marry, but she could not bend the rules. Not even in the slightest.

"Then I have something for you, Naga. Something that you may not have realized. My lineage is Jedah's lineage. To put the proper familial ties in place, my grandfather was Rezo the Red Priest. Rezo was half-brother to Jedah and to Lei Magnus both, so you may well wish to reconsider your stance on lineage." Zelgadis replied calmly. "The true title of Lord Greywords would belong to Jedah and not myself, though Jedah's primary claim is Metallium. On the Mazoku realm, Jedah is as high as you get without entering the circles of Shabranigdo or Cepheid."

Lina looked a little bored, for she'd heard this recant of lineage before. She was interested in what Naga thought of it, for the bald-faced facts often ended being less appealing than the softer illusion that Jedah and Zelgadis shrouded themselves with. "Naga, hear him out. This is more to this than you can possibly imagine."

"I don't know if he ever told you his true name, Naga." Zelgadis said quietly. "Before he was Lord Hellmaster, he was Jedaikun Metallium san Greywords, the sole living heir to Ambervale."


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

Jedah lifted his gaze to Amelia's, staying the buildup of power that would have swept him from the room, carried him off to a safer haven where the complexities of his heart could only hurt himself. Or so he thought. "Amelia… I don't know that I can." The scar pulsed painfully at the admission, and he gasped involuntarily, flinching. He lifted his hand, staying Amelia's reaction to reach out to him. "How do you live with this, Amelia? How do you cope with the pain of a heart that tries to tear itself in half?"

Amelia didn't have an answer for him, could only look on in concern as another wave of pain tore through Jedah, this time wresting a hoarse cry of pain from him as he doubled up on himself. The cry startled Erina, who began to cry herself, tearing Amelia's concentration in half. She held her daughter closer, watching Jedah as more pain tore through him. "Jedah… what can I do? How can I help you?"

He couldn't answer, could gather his thoughts enough to form a coherent response, the only thing voiced was another gasp as Jedah's scar tightened momentarily. It felt as if someone had placed a steel vise around his heart and was tightening it with swift and sure movements. Gradual might have been tolerable, even pleasurable, but this… this was unsurvivable.

Erina's cries grew more and more insistent, and Amelia rocked back and forth, trying to calm her daughter, trying to decide how she could help Jedah. She'd never felt quite so helpless before, never wanted to do something and yet had no idea where to start. "Jedah, please… I want to help you, but you have to tell me what you need."

"Leave… me…" The words were hissed, his voice cracking through the pain. He needed to shift forms, needed to take the pain and use it to try to survive. Amelia and Erina would be at risk if he did, and he couldn't put them in danger, couldn't run the course that he knew they wouldn't survive. Another twist of pain seared behind his eyes, and he couldn't restrain the snarl of reaction.

This pain was familiar, yes, the pain of a shattered heart. It reminded him of the pain that he felt in Ambervale when he'd stood in the ruins of the tower, trying to feel for the scope of the change in Zelgadis. The difference was that this wasn't an echo. This was the real pain, the physical and the mental combined together to take him away from everything, to tear him in two and dissolve his existence. The pain took him, scattered his wits farther than he could reach, and Jedah shifted.

As Amelia watched in shock, Jedah twisted away from her with a snarl of pain before collapsing into a silent heap on the floor. The silence that fell was stunningly eerie, for not only had Jedah stopped, but so had Erina. Amelia looked down to her daughter, to see that her child was sniffling valiantly, but was unharmed. Nervously, Amelia leaned forwards, reaching her free hand out to touch Jedah's leg, to grip and shake slightly. "Jedah?"

There was no answer for a time, and then, ever so slowly, he sat, his face shrouded by shadows cast by his hair. After a moment, he spoke, his voice low and deep, a voice that Amelia had not heard him use before. "I thought I'd told you to leave me." There was something about his voice that was velvet and husky wrapped around a sense of fluid power that enticed.

Amelia looked at him carefully, trying to catch his eyes under his hair. "Jedah… all I want to do is help you. You were in so much pain… we may have our differences, but I couldn't leave you to be in pain like that alone." She shook her head, releasing his leg and holding Erina a little closer. "I love you too much to just let you go without knowing it."

"One of your servants is coming. It would be wiser if you took your daughter and left me," he replied, turning his face away from her, avoiding her gaze. Power was still rippling through him, changing him, shifting his appearance while he tried to contain it long enough for them to escape the backlash that was certain to come. The only person that he had dared to show his full physical shift with was Xellos, and even that was a dangerous chance.

There was a knock at the door, and before Amelia could answer, a servant opened it, looking in to see the odd trio. "My Queen… you summoned me?" She was terrified of being up here in this tower haunted by a man that none in the Palace seemed to understand. But she'd heard the summons, and so here she came to answer it, as was her duty.

It was at that moment that Amelia made up her mind. She'd made the wrong decision before, and now it was time to correct it. Turning to the servant, she nodded. "I did. It is time for Erina's nap, and Advisor Greywords and I have some things left to discuss. Please tend to her for me and I will be down as soon as I can be." Amelia offered, the child blinking placidly at the servant who was scrambling to take the little girl.

"Yes, my Queen." The servant didn't ask, knew better than to, for that would additionally mean she'd have to stay up here even longer. With a curtsey, she took the child and departed the tower room quickly, taking care to close the door silently behind her before not quite running for the steps.

When Amelia could hear the footsteps on the stairs, she turned back to Jedah. "Erina is safe now, Jedah, and I've made my decision." She moved closer to him, watching him shy away from her, and she reached out to take his face into her hands, to turn him towards her as she brushed his hair from his face. "I'm staying right here, with you." She would have said more, but his eyes rose to meet hers and her thoughts scattered to the winds.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three

Naga stared at Zelgadis. "Ambervale?" She echoed the name, even as Lina turned to look incredulously to her husband. The thought that Jedah was the last living Scion of Ambervale decidedly turned the tables. To secure that name and the power that carried along behind it… Ambervale had been the home of some of the most powerful magic users in the known world… "No… that can't be. _You_ were the son of Ambervale."

Zelgadis sighed, closing his eyes and pinching at the bridge of his nose. "Yes, once upon a time, I was the Heir to Ambervale. But I revoked that heritage when I reduced most of the city itself to ruin." He lowered his hand, lifting his gaze to Naga. "Jedah is the older half-brother of Rezo the Red Priest." He ignored Lina's shudder. "Rezo was the Patriarch of Ambervale, so when I revoked my rights it went to the next blood relation, which is Jedah."

He paused a beat, and then continued. "And in all honesty, I don't want to claim Ambervale. There are too many ghosts that walk that memory, shadowing me enough as it is. Laying claim to that would only cheapen the loss that I caused." It hurt him to admit it, for he had enjoyed the destruction, had taken satisfaction from it… and even now could draw forth some twisted ripple of pleasure from the memory. "Let Jedah claim it, Naga. I have no use for it, and it seems that he might yet."

Lina suddenly understood what Zelgadis was saying. He was the Heir to Ambervale, by all intents and bloodlines, yes. Zelgadis was within his rights to pick up the crown that had fallen and reclaim the land and rebuild. And yet, there he was, giving it to Jedah, handing over the chance for Jedah and Amelia to be happy together. It made her love him all the more.

"That would be perfect, Zelgadis, except for that minor fact that Jedah is Hellmaster," Naga retorted, heat in her voice. "Do you think that I don't want Amelia to be happy? Do I seem that much of a cold-hearted bitch to you?" She sighed in defeat, shaking her head. "I'd love for them to find a way to make it work. Honestly, I would. But the chances of that are so slim that I have to make plans. I have to be the one strong enough to carry on."

"They're up there right now," Zelgadis said quietly, a tense note in his voice. "Amelia's in the tower room with Jedah, and there's magic at work, magic that I'm not sure I like the sense of. I'm being blocked, I don't know what is going on, but I know that she is in there." His hand had automatically moved to his hip, fingers resting lightly on the sword-hilt that had simply appeared.

"Jedah's heart was giving him some trouble," a familiar voice spoke from the shadows. Xellos stepped into the room proper, giving a half-bow to the occupants. "While you understood the nature of your human self, Zelgadis, Jedah does not. He's at war with himself even now, a fiercer war than you had to fight. You had the love of Lina to fight for; Jedah is fighting himself against the love he has for Amelia and her daughter. Unfortunately for us all, I believe that he's in danger of losing."

Lina turned to look at Xellos, eying him for a moment. "I'm not going to ask how you know this, Xellos, but I take it that you're back on speaking terms with Jedah?" She admitted to herself that her voice sounded a little skeptical, but she'd been told that Xellos and Jedah had been in enough of a fight to end with Jedah looking as if the Four Worlds had rolled over him, and Xellos locked away for years.

Xellos flashed his patent delighted evil smile at Lina, not quite leering in her direction. (Zelgadis was in the room after all.) "Oh, I'd say that we're on better terms than simply _speaking_, my dear Lina. Far better terms." His grin deepened when Lina and Naga both turned somewhat blue in the face and turned away. His gaze lifted to Zelgadis, who was looking at him in annoyance, aquamarine eyes flashing.

"What are you up to, Xellos?" Zelgadis was rapidly losing patience with the entire situation, and was quite ready to simply go home and be done with it. Jedah and Amelia had made their own beds as far as he was concerned. He had no place in this fight, no desire to lay any claims that could remotely involve himself or Lina. It would be so easy to grab Lina and leave; just will themselves back to Zephilia where home seemed so quiet, so peaceful.

"Why, nothing, Zelgadis. I'm only here because I have a vested interest in Jedah's safety and sanity… both of which are currently in very serious doubt." Xellos' eyes were open, a sincerely concerned look within them as he looked to Zelgadis. _I fear for him, Zelgadis. The pain that he's living within… he's caught in his own Hell and I'm not sure any of us can free him from it, if he even wishes himself free._

Xellos' voice in his head startled him, but Zelgadis shook his head disbelievingly, covering for the surprise. "And how am I supposed to believe you, Xellos? You haven't exactly proven yourself to be the most trustworthy in the past." Privately, he had to agree with Xellos in the silent discussion. _Is that why you're really here, Xellos? Did you come to be your usually and generally unhelpful self, or did you come to help me contain him if it comes down to that?_

Lina could tell there was an undertone of a conversation that wasn't out in the open, but she trusted Zelgadis. But before she could interject her own comment to the banter between her husband and the Trickster Priest, a blast of magical power from above rocked the Palace, silencing them all.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four

The power build-up had been subtle, but Amelia had felt it moments before it reached a critical point. Throwing herself onto him, she cast the guumueon one more time, reaching up and pulling herself to him, kissing him as the final act of the spell, giving herself to it, allowing the spell to run freely as it would instead of trying to constrain it as a sphere around something.

Magic exploded, the clash of powers a brilliant flare visible to nearly everyone who had Astral Sight. For the two at the heart of the spell, the world seemed to invert, the moment catching them, binding them in the spell. But the spell and the kiss broke, and Amelia was left breathlessly lying against Jedah, wondering what that desperate move and spell had done.

For Jedah, time stopped and he hung senseless in the Astral Plane for a moment before his awareness shifted back to the physical. His hand lifted, fingers touching her hair. What had she done? What spell had she cast with her lips that she had not cast with her voice? The moment she had kissed him, his pain had vanished as if it never had been, and her lips had been sweet against his. How had she done whatever it was that she did?

Amelia lifted her head, looking up to Jedah. He still looked the way he had when she'd leapt for him; his eyes were still that winter blue shot through with deeper indigo, his pupils elongated. His lips were parted slightly, his teeth slightly pointed, and he licked his lips as she watched. She wanted to ask him if it was still him, but how could she give that any voice? Instead, she reached up and touched her fingers to his cheek, looking at him with a curious gaze.

"Amelia…" His voice hadn't changed, still rippled with that power, was still as velvet soft and entrancing. What had she done to him that he was so entranced by her, and yet still in command of ever ability and every aspect of himself? "What did you do?" He found himself in a complete and total loss.

"I cast the guumueon spell, trying to contain the power that you were gathering. I don't know what it did, in all honesty. That felt like some sort of magical explosion." She wasn't sure what had happened, but she knew, somewhere in the back of her mind, that he looked far different than how she had once seen him as Hellmaster. He looked less like a raging demon of Hell and more like the Jedah that she knew and loved.

To Jedah, it was as if every one of his senses were heightened. He could feel her heart beating against him; feel the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. He felt her magical nature rippling against him like a gentle lapping of water that played around him. And Shabranigdo help him, he felt that possessive attraction that he had once upon a memory in Krimzon. His fingers twined into her hair for a moment, and then he stilled them, speaking quietly. "You'd probably better get up."

Before Amelia could move, however, the door burst open, Lina and Naga rushing in with half a dozen spells ready to cast down on whatever they found in the tower room.

When Zelgadis walked in, the tableau was frozen. Jedah was in full physical display as Hellmaster, but was lying on the floor of the room, crumpled underneath the petite figure of Amelia. It didn't look like a fight, for Jedah's hands were curled into her hair and not pushing her off. Lina was standing where she'd landed, staring open-mouthed at the pair on the floor, a fireball drifting aimlessly above her hand, while Naga had dispelled hers immediately and was simply trying to control herself from beating the life out of her sister.

In short, as far as Zelgadis was concerned, things looked perfectly normal. He leaned against the doorway and folded his arms as he looked to Jedah and Amelia calmly for a moment. "I've heard of explosive passion, but that's generally kept to yourselves," he said in a perfectly dry tone of voice, no hint of a smile in his eyes.

The fireball dissolved as Lina collapsed on the floor, and Naga spun to look at Zelgadis, scandalized beyond rational thought. "Zelgadis!" She turned scarlet as she lifted her hands to bury her face in them, the very image of mortification. The emotions washed through the room, and Zelgadis had to clench his teeth to keep his face straight.

Amelia leapt off of Jedah, landing on her toes to turn around and glare hotly at Zelgadis. "There was nothing passionate about that Zelgadis! I cast the guumueon spell and it exploded against Jedah's powers, knocking us both to the floor." She conveniently left out the fact that she'd leapt _for_ Jedah when she'd done it, and kissed him to boot.

"On the contrary, Amelia," Jedah said in his softly velvet voice. "I think that passion had everything to do with it." He drew himself up off of the floor, his powers falling about him like a cloak, and he regarded Zelgadis for a moment before he looked to Amelia. "Let me say this, and then it will be done. However it goes from here, it will go with the full knowledge shared by everyone in this room, even you Xellos."

The Trickster Priest chuckled from the shadows behind Jedah. "Even if I already know?" He shrugged and affected a sigh. "So much for secrets now." With a bemused look across to Zelgadis, Xellos walked into the room itself, waiting to see what Jedah had to say, even though he did know.

"Amelia, ever since I met you, I've fought with myself. I've forced myself to love you with only half of my heart because I was afraid of what might happen if I gave you all of it. I don't have that choice any longer. I have to choose, and I choose to love you as I am." Jedah indicated his appearance, self-consciously waving a hand towards himself. "I know you're married to Slidell, and I have no illusions that it can ever be. But as long as you need me, I am yours."


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five

Lina gasped, and her first reaction was to look not to Amelia, but to Xellos, trying to get a feel for how the Trickster Priest felt about Jedah's feelings for Amelia. All she could see was that placid smile that Xellos often hid behind, concealing his true thoughts from the world.

Amelia looked to Jedah, a sad little smile on her lips as she shook her head, looking at those eyes that said so much more than he had given voice. She stepped towards him, reaching a hand up to his face, but before she could say anything, Naga interrupted.

"The marriage of Saillune and Slidell has not been ratified by the Council of Advisors, as one was not present to vote, and I had it tabled until such time as it could be addressed. Being that you, Jedah, are directly involved, I regret to inform you that you are removed from the Council of Advisors as of this moment." Naga turned away from Amelia, ignoring the protest in her sister's eyes.

"Zelgadis Ambervale nels Greywords, as Head of the Council of Advisors, I hereby appoint you to the position of Royal Advisor, High Sorcerer of Saillune. There is one item on the table: The ratification of the marriage between Queen Amelia wil Tesla Saillune and the bastard Kyle Venn Slidell. Do you accept this marriage as valid?" Naga's voice was powerful, cutting through the emotions in the room, almost daring Zelgadis to defy any part of what she had just done.

The silence that followed was absolute. The only person present who was not shocked was Naga, and she noted with grim bemusement that Zelgadis hadn't seen this coming. Heartbeats passed, and then Zelgadis lifted his aquamarine gaze past Naga, to Jedah's startled countenance. "I do not. Slidell does not represent the good of Saillune, nor does he have the Queen's best interests at heart. I would counter-propose immediate expulsion from Saillune's territories with notice that any further attempt to involve Saillune in the petty bickering of Slidell's inner family will not be looked kindly upon, and may be interpreted as a precursor to embargo."

Amelia couldn't believe what she was hearing. Within the space of several heartbeats, Jedah had confessed his love; Naga had dismissed Jedah, promoted Zelgadis, dissolved her farcical marriage and freed her from the mistake that she had brought on herself. She was, to put it quite succinctly, speechless. All she could do was stare at the woman that her sister had become while standing in her shadow.

"Done," Naga snapped, turning from Zelgadis to look hard at Amelia for a long moment, watching her sister begin to shrivel under that gaze. She took two steps, closing the distance between them, pulling Amelia into an embrace, her gaze softening as she did so, moving to whisper into her sister's hair. "You're free of Slidell, Amelia. Take Jedah and marry him."

When Naga stepped away from Amelia, Lina could see the heavy weight that had been pressing down on the younger woman fall away. She watched as Amelia turned to Jedah, biting her lip for a moment, and then leaping at him with a little cry of absolute delight. For a moment, Lina thought that Jedah wouldn't react, but he caught Amelia, laughing, closing his eyes, burying his face in her hair.

Xellos smiled, half-bowing as he turned to look across the room to Zelgadis. _Well played, old friend. That was the best possible outcome, and you managed to pull it off with a little help. I volunteer my services for removing Slidell._ His mental voice was calm, no trace of any disappointment or distress.

Zelgadis looked up at Xellos for a moment, a bitter smile touching his lips before he nodded, as if thinking to himself. "Xellos, see that Slidell is… appropriately compensated for his trouble in Saillune and escort him back to his mother's skirts. Let her deal with his failure to capture the heart and throne of Saillune." _And what of you, Xellos? What of your relationship to Jedah?_

_You know the answer to that, Zelgadis_. Xellos replied silently. _There are nights that even Lina can't provide what you need._ Outwardly, Xellos bowed to Zelgadis. "As you command, Lord Greywords. Leave Slidell in my care. I doubt that there will be any further noise from them in regards to this." Without waiting for a reply, Xellos vanished from the room, leaving Zelgadis looking somewhat flustered.

Lina watched the exchange between Zelgadis and Xellos, turned to look to Naga, who for once looked perfectly content with the way that events had transpired. She hated to be the wet blanket, hated to wonder, but once again decided to be the voice of question. "Well, congratulations both of you… but I have to ask, Amelia. Who is Erina's father?"

Amelia broke the embrace with Jedah, turning to look to Lina with a cryptic little smile. "I thought it was obvious, Lina." She turned to look to Jedah, who had a questioning look on his face. "When she's mad, her eyes darken just as yours do, and she's clearly sensitive to your magics. She is your daughter, after all…"

Jedah was overwhelmed. He'd given up the truth of his heart with a bleak understanding that it could never be more than his love given from the shadows, and by some almost impossible to fathom path of logic on Naga's part, he had the chance to not only love Amelia, but to be with her. And now, she was telling him that the child with blue eyes and black hair was his. All he could do was gather her into his embrace once more.

Naga took a deep breath, turning to look to Lina and Zelgadis. "We should complete the rejection of ratification on the document itself, Zelgadis. If you two will come with me, we'll get that taken care of and find some official rooms for you to use as residence while you're visiting."

Lina bit her lip to keep the grin from escaping, knowing exactly what Naga was planning. Amelia and Jedah needed some time alone, so she stepped across, catching Zelgadis and pushing him out the door, Naga following, pulling the door shut behind them.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

The rejection of the marriage was a simple matter of Zelgadis signing the rejection and handing it to Naga. Acquiring rooms was also a simple matter, though there had never been any illusion of why Naga had insisted they leave the tower.

In the Advisor's Hall, Lina leaned across the table and looked to Naga. "You knew, all along, didn't you? Erina's parentage, Jedah's devotion… you've been in the Palace the entire time, haven't you?" It was a viable question, and Lina was surprised when Naga shook her head.

"No, in all honesty, I didn't realize that Erina was truly Jedah's child until a few months ago. I wasn't here when…" Naga choked for a moment, coughed and cleared her throat before continuing. "I have been traveling, securing those trade routes and ensuring that my father's work wasn't for nothing."

Zelgadis turned to look to Naga. "And how much of this had you planned? How could you be sure that it went in a direction where all would be pleased by the end result?" Naga certainly had risen to the occasion, come up with a solid resolution that had cleaned up nearly all of the loose ends.

Naga shook her head. "None of it, Zelgadis. Once you gifted Jedah with the title of Ambervale, that opened all of the doors. I reason that Jedah is known enough to the people as one of those closest to Amelia… to them it will seem only a natural progression." She set her seal on the document of rejection, casting the binding spell into it, officiating the decision to refuse Slidell.

Lina sat slowly, looking at Naga thoughtfully. "And you said Amelia had grown up without you, Naga. Were you even listening to yourself as you single-handedly plucked a triumph out from the wreckage of emotion in that tower?" She shook her head, smiling. "You're a hell of a leader, Naga."

Naga blushed, casting a look across the table to Lina as she folded the letter closed. "I did what had to be done, Lina. We've all grown, even you. Time and events shape us, mold us and move us forwards so that we never truly stop adapting. That's all I did: adapt." She had to admit, Lina was right.

A servant entered the room, a tray of foodstuffs on a cart, and she began assembling the food on the table. As Zelgadis moved across to sit next to Lina, Naga leaned forwards and snagged a glass of wine, looking at it thoughtfully before passing it to Lina. "Here. I haven't had alcohol in almost three years. I don't think I'll start now."

Zelgadis stared. "But I thought… Jedah said that you'd run up quite the bill after Philionel's funeral?" He'd known Naga's capacity for drinking, had seen her with goblets and flasks, and assumed that she was drinking the same alcohol that everyone else was. It had never occurred to him that she had something entirely different within them.

Naga grinned as she chose a goblet of water. "I did. But the alcohol was used as gifts… bribes if you will. A case of this, a barrel of that… it goes far farther towards a signed trade agreement than many negotiations." She chuckled softly, adding a thought after she sipped her water. "In some cases, they don't even recall agreeing."

Lina faceplanted onto the table, narrowly missing the plate of food that the servant was bringing to her. "If you can't beat them sober, get them drunk and then talk them into signing it." She looked up, taking the plate from the startled servant. "Amazing. Just amazing."

Zelgadis looked to Lina for a moment. "It's a time-honored tradition, Lina. In fact, some leaders who plan to agree simply hold out for the bribe. There's nothing new about it." He took the plate handed to him with a small nod to the servant. "It's when the bribe isn't available that things often become problematic."

"So what gets sent back to Slidell to keep them from becoming a problem?" Lina asked between mouthfuls of food. "Or is that what Xellos is for? To scare them into being quiet about the whole thing, and leaving Amelia alone?" She took a healthy drink from her wine and turned back to her food without waiting for a reply.

Naga's gaze lifted to Zelgadis for a moment, and his returned gaze was placid, unreadable. "I'd imagine that Xellos is more than capable of making Slidell an offer that would be impossible to refuse. Especially as he's powerful enough to be able to back up any threats he might need to place."

Zelgadis studied his plate for a moment, and then looked up to Naga. "He knows the limitations, and I do not believe that he will cross those lines. Xellos may be a pain in the ass, but he listens when it's important." He looked over as Lina coughed in response, lifting an eyebrow, but saying nothing.

"I can't deny that having you three around can be considered a valuable asset and a dangerous liability," Naga said conversationally. "I'm certain that some sort of accord can be reached where we all find a decently stable common ground." She set her fork down, looking to Zelgadis. "I'm not stupid; I know that Jedah's presence will nearly guarantee Xellos'. But can I trust Jedah to keep Xellos in line? We all recall what happened before you returned from the seeming dead, Zelgadis."

"Xellos was trying to use Amelia to get to me, though, Naga," Lina replied. "In the end, all he got was… Jedah." Realization hit her, and she looked over at Zelgadis in surprise. "All of this happened because of Xellos. He's the one who turned on you, who pushed you past that fight, the one who took up with Amelia to get to me and bring you back to drag Jedah out of hiding…"

Zelgadis nodded as Lina spoke. "And in the end, Xellos was reunited with Jedah. He's a master of manipulations indeed. But, for once, I won't complain." He took a drink of wine and looked to Lina. "I ended up happily married to you, and I daresay we're all a good deal better off than we were." He lifted his goblet, saluted, and took another drink to seal the silent toast. Naga and Lina had to agree, each lifting their drinks and sipping contemplatively.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven

The carriage stood before the private Residential Entrance to the Palace of Saillune, the somber black leather reflecting the lanterns as the servants loaded Kyle Slidell's belongings into the top racks. The silver-haired guard stood silently by the door, holding it for the sandy-haired would-be king, and followed after, closing the carriage door and securing the latch.

"I don't need a bodyguard," Slidell protested, placing his bag carefully next to him and looking across to the man who had shadowed him since he'd left the private chambers. "Once we make it to the border with Slidell, I will find my own passage home and be of no further nuisance to you." He was glad that the violet-haired priest had simply escorted him wordlessly outside before turning and leaving him with the guard. The priest set his nerves jangling, and the last thing he needed now was to look remotely suspicious.

The guard shook his head impassively. "My orders are to see you safely home. He folded his arms and sat easily in the carriage, facing Slidell and almost seeming to dare the youth to disagree. When the carriage lurched forwards, Slidell found himself sitting quickly, resigned to the trip and his fate to be returned.

He wasn't in the mood for conversation; the scroll within his left hand having made clear that everything that he had thought was going to come to pass was simply gone. He'd made a good gamble for the throne, thought he'd secured it, but in the end, he'd been sent packing, refused by the Queen's Council.

Nevertheless, he lifted his gaze to the bored guard's and smiled a tight little smile. They didn't know what he had done, and with luck, wouldn't discover it until he was well into the lands held by his father. Once he was on sympathetic lands, he'd be able to stand against anything that Saillune could bring to bear against him without having to play his full hand.

The carriage rounded a bend in the road, and Slidell saw the horses drawing them along, if those were such creatures, blacker than night themselves. He frowned for a moment, not realizing that Saillune had owned such beasts, but before he could ask, the carriage was plunged into darkness as they entered a tunnel that he didn't remember.

A candle flared into life, the light spilling out from the lantern that the guard had turned to regard for a moment, the glow oddly lonely in the strangely oppressing darkness. Slidell turned to peer through the small round window, but he couldn't even make out the vaguest of shapes. He vaguely recalled passing through a tunnel on his way to Saillune, but he hadn't thought it was a very long tunnel.

"I wonder," he began conversationally, "Are we going the right way? I don't recall this tunnel from my previous return to Slidell…" There was a soft little cough, and suddenly movement to his left caught his eye, and he turned to see the bag that he had carried into the carriage with him sitting on the guard's lap.

"This is interesting… what have we here?" The guard murmured, opening the bag and reaching in with both hands. He pulled out a bundle swathed in blankets, unfolding the blankets like petals until the sleeping face of Amelia's daughter was revealed.

The silence in the carriage was a heavy one, a thick and cloying weight coalescing in the small space as the guard lifted his curious light blue gaze to Slidell, and asked in a tone of voice that was entirely too calm, "Adding kidnapping to the list of things that Saillune has to hold against you?"

Slidell knew that he'd been caught. He'd thought the girl would sleep silently through the trip, thought that if he could get her into Slidell, he'd have some tool to bargain with Amelia. He hadn't prepared for the little girl to make any indication that she was in the room. "Damn. I don't suppose," he started, his mind spinning, "that we could come to some sort of… arrangement? A guard like you could always use a fatter coinpurse…"

The guard looked insulted, shifting the bag off of his lap and regarding the little girl thoughtfully. "I am fairly certain that any arrangements that you and I might discuss would be of little use to me, for I have little need of a coinpurse at all, fat or no." He spoke carefully, with a voice that seemed entirely too soft, too gentle, too… dangerous. "In fact, I'm relatively certain that you've grossly underestimated things, and that your position is even more precarious than it was before."

Slidell snarled, releasing his hidden magics and shifting himself, the guard and the child out of the carriage and into the world of mist between the planes. "Or perhaps you don't realize that I've made the Pact with a Mazoku and I'll have that child back, no matter what you think to say about it."

Power pulsed, and the lanky youth was replaced by a young man with a cruel smile twisting his scarred face. He was older than the appearance that he'd carried as the youthful and laid back Kyle Slidell, fuller of body and slightly heavier of frame. The bastard son had sought power of his own, though he'd been fool enough to believe in a Mazoku for a source.

The guard simply stood there, shaking his head slowly. "You are in so deep that I cannot begin to explain it to you. I don't care who your Pactholder is, Slidell. You can save your comments and your show of power, too. The child is not yours; she will be returned to her mother." The guard lifted a violet gaze from the child, his hair falling deep purple as he stepped backwards into the shadows, though Xellos' voice remained a bit longer. "I would not wish to be you, Slidell. Goodbye."

A new voice spoke from behind Slidell, a soft voice, velvet and silvered with icy depths. "And as for you… you will get to deal with me."


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The alarm that Erina was missing had gone up shortly after Slidell had left, and while servants and guards searched frantically, Zelgadis simply stood silent in the room where the child had last been seen. It was a simple matter of thought, touching the mind of the Trickster in the carriage, alerting him to the missing child, and feeling the almost immediate reply.

He didn't want to alert Jedah, didn't want to be the one to give a reason for Hellmaster to walk the world once more, but if ever there was motivation, this was IT in capital letters. With a mental sigh, Zelgadis sent the thought flying towards Jedah. _Jedah, Slidell attempted to take Erina. Xellos is retrieving her._

A human wouldn't have felt the percussion of power, the overwhelming fury that suddenly exploded from above, causing Zelgadis to wince at the force. He thought to be insanely glad that the full power of Hellmaster's anger wasn't going to be aimed at him, and shook his head as he felt the darkening, felt the limits pushed to extremes before they snapped and Jedah's presence was completely gone.

"What the hell was that?" Lina asked, appearing in the doorway with a pale face. "Zelgadis? Did you do something?" She moved into the room, Amelia racing breathlessly in behind her, both women looking to him with alarm, though Amelia's was far wilder than Lina's.

Zelgadis lifted a hand, staying both Amelia and Lina. "Erina is fine, she's perfectly safe." As he spoke, he turned, having felt Xellos' arrival before the Mazoku had slipped from the shadows between the planes. "See?" He took the child from Xellos, turning and offering her to Amelia, who leapt forwards with a little cry of relieved delight. _Thank you, Xellos. For not twisting this for once._

Xellos' reply was as crystalline sincere as he could ever be, a flicker of violet eyes lifting to Zelgadis for a moment before regarding Amelia and her daughter. _She is Jedah's daughter, Zelgadis, a part of him._

Zelgadis' eyes widened, and he turned to look to Xellos, turned to meet eyes with the Mazoku who had been the manipulator, been the reason that their lives had taken the path they no found themselves taking. For a moment, all he saw was the clear and uncut emotion that Xellos hid so carefully, and it amazed him. For all of the Trickster Priest's protests to the opposite, his heart was nearly blinding in its fierceness.

It was a long moment, Mazoku eyes meeting Mazoku eyes, and then Zelgadis quirked his half-smile quickly, a flash of silent acknowledgement of what Xellos hadn't said passing between them, only to be broken by Lina's slipper hitting Zelgadis upside the back of his head.

"What the hell was that, Zelgadis? You didn't answer me!" Lina was glad that Erina was back, but that burst of power could well mean many things, and every single one of them were bad in her book. If the world was about to collapse around her head, Lina wanted to know about it in time to at least cast a protection spell.

"That would have been Jedah." It was Xellos who answered thoughtfully. "I don't think that Slidell had any idea of what he was getting himself into when he decided to take Erina and run. Oh, he's made the Pact, tasted a hint of the power of the Mazoku and found it far more to his liking than simply living as the bastard son of Slidell. His mistake was his stupidity."

"So Jedah turns that stunningly powerful anger on Slidell and life moves on." Zelgadis said, watching as Erina awoke and yawned, squirming in her mother's grasp as if nothing had happened and she'd never been out of the Palace. "I wouldn't want to be Slidell," he admitted.

Word that Erina was with Amelia had started to filter through the Palace, and while the servants couldn't quite decide how that had happened, they weren't going to complain that the Princess was safe. They simply returned to their daily tasks, though it would make good gossip for days. That word had brought Naga to a halt inside the room next to her sister as she looked to the child in concern. "She's unhurt?"

Everyone turned to regard Naga, as if they were wondering why she'd been worried. _Then again,_ Zelgadis realized, _Naga's not accustomed to the sheer power that gets flung around as easily as we breathe._ "Slidell didn't have the chance to harm her, Naga. Xellos was in the carriage the entire time she was."

Naga looked across to Xellos, and then to Zelgadis. For a moment, it wasn't clear if she was going to start yelling or give in graciously. She did neither, simply sighing and dropping her shoulders in a resigned defeat. "I get the feeling that my life has suddenly become so much more complex than it needs to be."

"It's the price of power, Naga," Zelgadis said, walking across to place a hand on the older woman's shoulder and inviting her to walk with him out of the room with a gentle movement. "We should discuss a few things, Naga, I need to know what my expected duties are as Royal High Sorcerer…" his throat tried to close on the words as he maneuvered them both out of the room, leaving Lina with Amelia, Erina and Xellos.

Lina turned to look across the room to Xellos. "Hey, Fruitcake, you wanna explain something to me?" She didn't sound belligerent, didn't seem angry, so he lifted his gaze to her and arched a violet eyebrow in a reply far more eloquent than a simple voiced 'yes.'

She walked up to Xellos, leaning into him, her lips distractingly close to his ear. When she spoke her voice was low, pitched just for him to hear, and no-one else. "You don't have to say anything out loud, Xellos, but I need to know: You truly do love Jedah, don't you?"

Xellos' answer was wordless, which was a good thing, for he wasn't certain he could trust his voice. He turned his head into Lina's, kissed her gently on the cheek, and vanished.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Slidell spun in the ether, looking around himself to see who it was who had spoken. All he could see was shadow, darkness stretching off into near-infinity, a cloying and heavy blanket of blackness deeper than pitch. "Who are you? I don't see anyone." He called out with the voice of bravado that doesn't know any better than to flaunt its meager ability.

_Jedaikun._ The reply came from the shadows, and though it took a moment, Slidell realized that the speaker wasn't hiding within the shadows darkness. He _was_ the shadow, the night that had fallen across him in this moment of Between. There was a moment of breathtaking reversed light, and then a man stood there in place of the shadow.

He was of average height, with black hair that fell past his shoulders, brilliant blue eyes piercing out from under the long black bangs. He was clad in darkness, a black shirt and pants tucked into boots. He moved with a strange grace that betrayed the appearance of humanity, for no human could move with such effortless grace.

"Jedaikun? Is that supposed to frighten me?" Slidell snorted, shaking his head. He was so completely convinced in his pathetic powers that he missed the obvious and spoke carelessly. "You're Mazoku, I catch on quick."

"No, I don't think you do. At least, not quite. You see… your Pactholder hasn't bothered to teach you anything, has she?" The man came to a stop a foot or so away, simply standing there and looking at Slidell. "I am the Twilight's Shadow, he who holds sway over life and death. I am Hellmaster Jedaikun."

Hellmaster.

The impact of that designation was missing from Slidell's face, and Hellmaster reached out with his hand, catching Slidell off guard and yanking a neck chain off of the pathetic creature by the stone pendant. Calmly shielding the outraged volley of spells that Slidell started throwing at him, Hellmaster examined the Pledgestone. "You really are an idiot. What in the name of our Dark Lord was Madroka thinking?"

Hellmaster lifted his gaze to Slidell in time to see another blast of something fire off towards him, and he waved it off with a thought, not even bothering to lift his hand against it. "Tell me, Slidell. Why steal the child? Were you trying to start a war that you couldn't possibly win? Because, let me tell you something: Erina isn't your child. She's mine, and you are messing with forces that you can't imagine."

Slidell's answer was a blast of something dark, and Hellmaster sighed as he simply absorbed it and tilted his head. "You have no intentions of making this easy, do you?" Clenching his hand around the Pledgestone, he murmured a single word, his will reaching out and forcing its desire on the one named. "Madroka."

The creature who was called forth was in human guise, her green eyes widening in surprise before she fell to her knees before Hellmaster. "Get on your knees, idiot!" She hissed to Slidell, a warning that was long past due, but ineffective as Slidell sent another wave of power towards Hellmaster, who rolled his eyes and let it wash past him.

"Oh, I'm afraid it's too late for that, Madroka." He waved the Pledgestone at her, his dark smile twistedly cheerful. "He's forfeit. I just haven't gotten around to it yet." Hellmaster walked across the nothingness that separated them and crouched down in front of Madroka, reaching out to touch her chin and lift her face to see her green eyes. "What it's not too late for is to keep me from destroying you as well. So tell me what I want to know."

"I didn't know it was you, my Lord. I knew it was a presence in Saillune, but it felt like a lesser Mazoku, one that I might have swayed to my side in the resultant shift of power. To be able to hold Saillune, the White Capital…" would have been the proverbial feather in Madroka's hat.

"Instead, you found a stronghold that you didn't dream of finding." Hellmaster replied, finally reaching out with his magic to hold Slidell and stop the useless barrage of spells thrown at him, ignoring the ineffectual thrashing and yelling. "So just tell me one more thing, Madroka. I only have one question, a trivial thing, truly. Was it your order to steal the child?"

"Child?" All sense of power drained from Madroka and she dared to turn her head, dared to take her gaze from Hellmaster and stare at the human who had proven himself nothing more than the most useless of babbling idiots. "What child did you take, you babbling fool?"

"My child," came the velvet-soft voice, Hellmaster whispering it quietly across the ether with a chilled finality. "But I can see that you weren't aware of her, let alone being the one responsible for endangering her." He nodded to Madroka, offering his hand to her, helping her to her feet. "It occurs to me that I am hungry. Have you eaten?"

She was wary, he could tell, but her reply was a negative, and with a simple thought from Hellmaster, Slidell burst into brilliant flames, his terror and pain washing out to both Hellmaster and Madroka. "Consider this simply the appetizer, Madroka. I'm sure we can settle on something a bit more… exotic for the main course." His grin was dark, the points of his teeth visible in the brilliant flare of the magical fire.

Beside Hellmaster, Madroka felt relief that it wasn't she in the burning flames, a relief that was sweeter still when a howl of pain washed into them and she felt the emotions torn raw, felt the emotion spill into her with a heady rush, drawing her own teeth pointed and her eyes to glittering with heated desire.

Hellmaster turned slightly, sensing her reaction, and smiled with a perverse pleasure. Whether or not she knew it, Madroka had just become his, a puppet dancing on the strings that he held within his casual grasp. She'd never escape him either, and he was going to enjoy it immensely when she realized what he'd done. For now, however, he'd let her think that she was free. It would make dessert all the sweeter.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter Thirty

Lina ran through the corridors of the private residence area, pushing doors open and moving with a sense of urgency that she barely comprehended. That touch, that feel of Xellos' lips on her cheek… why did it feel like a final goodbye? As much as the Trickster annoyed her, she couldn't let it go, chasing the fleeting impression of him across the Palace, up the floors, working her way into the tower and up into the top suite that had been Jedah's residence. She threw the door open, coming to a sliding halt as she realized that she wasn't where she started.

The courtyard that opened before her was unruly, overrun with brambles and a rosebush that had gleefully claimed an entire wall, climbing over it and taking it as its own personal playground to grow over. It had a wild beauty, the green offset by the deep violet of the roses and the grey of the stone wall.

Lina knew that this wasn't hidden in the tower of Saillune, and that if she stepped through the door and closed it behind her, she wouldn't be in Saillune any longer. That didn't worry her, because she knew that Zelgadis could find her no matter where she was.

Intrigued, she stepped through, pulling the door closed behind her by choice instead of allowing it to close on its own. If Xellos was behind this, intending for it to be a trap, she wanted it abundantly clear that she chose to ensnare herself within it.

There was no magical pop, no sense of any spell that might have triggered with the closing of the door, and Lina moved along the stone pathway, rounding a corner and seeing a door that looked promising. It was old and wooden, though mostly rotted away, and she slipped past it with ease.

She was confronted with a split level staircase, and instead of taking the lower and darker staircase, she moved upwards, towards a hallway lit with flickering candles that cast a warm and welcoming glow on the bare floor she walked across. Her footsteps were soft, muffled by the age of the wood, and the place smelled of age and faded memory.

At the far end of the hallway, she found a room that looked as if it was inhabited. A bed was made with crisp white linens, a desk to the side was strewn with papers, and Lina cast a casual glance at them before she frowned and picked one up carefully.

It was a river scene, a young man standing waist-deep in the water, fully dressed. Someone had faithfully rendered every detail, the water reflecting the sun; the highlights in the dark hair… even the glint of laughter in those eyes that she knew. This was Jedah in the drawing, she realized, but before she could look further, a startled cough came from the doorway.

Xellos stood just inside the room, looking curiously discomfited, as if Lina had caught him doing something that he shouldn't have been doing, but she didn't ask. Instead, she lifted the drawing in her hand up. "This is impressive. Did you draw this, Xellos?"

For a moment, for a fleeting instant, Lina could have sworn that she saw something flicker within those purple eyes. He looked to the page she held, and as if making a decision, nodded and dipped his shoulders slightly. "I did. Once upon a time, I was an artist." His voice was quiet, as if the admission was more than he could bear to give voice.

"He looks so real…" Lina said, placing the drawing carefully on the desk. "You have some true talent, Xellos." She turned slightly, looking around the room before she looked back to him. "Is this where you go to get away from things?" The room had a feel of being inhabited, little things here and there that seemed almost… sentimental.

"Sometimes," Xellos muttered, moving to collect the drawings and place them in one of the drawers of the desk. Lina didn't need to see all of them; it would likely raise more questions than he wanted to answer if she did. "I wasn't expecting… company. It's a bit of a mess in here…" By the Dark Lord, he was more unsettled by her presence than he wanted to admit.

"It's okay; I wasn't exactly expecting to be company…" Lina replied casually, her voice trailing off into nothingness when her gaze fell on a white shirt crumpled next to the foot of the bed. It was one thing to suspect the more intimate details of the relationship between Jedah and Xellos, and another thing entirely to encounter a discarded article of clothing belonging to one of them in the other's room.

After an uneasy moment, Lina moved and picked up the shirt, fluffing it and turning one sleeve back right side-out. She could feel the strange sense of near-panic rippling off of Xellos, and she said nothing until she had draped the shirt on the back of the chair pushed up against the desk. "You and Jedah… I can barely begin to comprehend the hearts of Mazoku, and I'm married to one. I know that there are things that I can't give Zelgadis, things that he has to go somewhere else to find, and I also know that I really don't want to know all of those details."

She watched Xellos carefully, suddenly seeing the uncertain youth that he once was, and it curled the corners of her lips a bit as she spoke. "And I have to think that there are things that Jedah needs and Amelia can't give him but you can. So that's all good too. It just leaves one question that must be asked, one thing that I just can't figure out." She could see the color draining from Xellos' face, a purely physical reaction to what had to be his mind skipping ahead in the conversation.

"Lina, I can't answer that," Xellos said, shaking his head and turning away. "I'm here when Jedah needs me, and that's enough. I won't twist and tell you it's a secret, you'd only come up with a different way to find out. But please, just leave it be."

It felt as if the world had stopped.

Xellos had said _please_.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter Thirty-One

Lina stood in stunned silence, looking at Xellos for a long time, amazed that he was willing to turn and meet her eyes after that request, that he was yet willing to show her the raw emotion in his face. This was him, not the closed-eyed Trickster Priest that the world at large saw. Lina was seeing the man behind the monster, and it was surprising how awkward he seemed.

"Xellos… why? At least tell me that, if you can't tell the other. All of this… the manipulations, the orchestrations. Why did you do it? What in the world were you trying to accomplish?" She moved towards him, finding her hand reaching for him, catching him by the wrist, a shock rippling through her at how heated his skin was.

Xellos pulled away from her as if it were she who had burned him and not the other way around. "Lina, I can't answer that either. Please. Just leave, go back the way that you came and let me be in this place." He was shaking, and clasped his hands behind his back to hide it, forcing himself to stand taller, to straighten his shoulders and attempt to look as solidly firm as he possibly could.

The truth of the moment dawned on Lina, a beautiful brilliance of thought, and her mouth fell open as she looked at Xellos, saw the valiant effort at seeming to be his normal and sardonic self. "Xellos, what have you done?" She moved towards him again, moved to touch his arm and pull his hands from behind his back, but he moved, pushing her back and away from himself.

There was a pressure, a sense of imminence that Xellos couldn't shake. "Lina, _go_. It's not going to be safe here for you much longer. I can't send you back right now, so you'll just have to trust me and run." His words were tight, and he struggled for a moment, moving to push her away once more with a shove that ended up being harder than he'd meant it to be. Jedah was on his way, and Xellos needed to get Lina to safety.

She stumbled backwards, gasping with a startled cry as she lost her footing and fell to the floor with a thump and jumble of feet and legs. It didn't matter two seconds after, however, for a figure appeared in the room, a creature of darkness that absorbed the light that tried to cast itself upon him.

Hellmaster had arrived, shadows swirling around him as if alive, his eyes feral and feline, pupils slitted and the blue of his irises as deep as the endless sky above. He stood for a moment, a silent figure of incredible power. When his gaze flickered over Lina, he paused, a lazy smile creeping across his lips, twisting into a parody of the emotion as her stomach did a hasty little flip.

_Lina, get out of here!_ Xellos turned towards Hellmaster, power rippling through him as he dispensed with his casual priest appearance. Black robes smoothed fluidly around him, his violet hair falling longer down his back. Without looking back to Lina, he moved forwards, lifting gloveless hands to take Hellmaster's silently.

Xellos' actions sidetracked Hellmaster, and Lina scrambled to her feet, taking off at a dead run, leaving the room and bounding down the hallway, skipping steps as she darted down them, dashing through the archway that had once held a door, making for the overgrown courtyard.

She ignored the thorns from the rosebush as it caught at her feet as she dashed across the open area, choosing the shortest path by which to flee, running for that doorway by which she'd arrived in this strange ruin. She stumbled, tumbling into the rosebush, caught by the thorns, tears of panic and pain prickling in her eyes. Briars dragged through her skin as she slid to a stop in the densest area, and she lay where she fell, trying to still herself and get her mind calm enough to cast a spell to work her way out of the roses.

As Lina lay there, gasping for breath, it occurred to her that the sky was a stunning shade of blue. The sun was warm and the breeze that wafted through the courtyard was a gentle one, heavy with the scent of roses. It didn't hurt if she held still, and the moment was so perfect that she lost track of time as she listened to her breath ease and fall into a steadier rhythm.

She lifted a hand free from the thorns, looking at the myriad of pinpricked blood-drops. Even those had a certain level of beauty, the red glittering like rubies against her skin. She felt detached from the moment, as if her narrow escape from Hellmaster had reminded her to look at the larger picture. Then again, it was probably the fact that she'd burned through all of her terror, leaving her lost to the languid state that usually followed on the heels of blind panic.

There was a sound, as if someone had caught a glimpse of her, and she could hear a voice. It was calling her name, telling her to hold still, that she'd be free in a moment. She couldn't tell who it was, but after a moment, she felt the thorns lifting away from her and she blinked her eyes.

"Lina… I'm here. We're going back to Saillune now…" Now she could tell that it was Zelgadis, his voice gentle as he gathered her into his arms, drawing her away from the ruins of Diergat and the madness of Hellmaster and the companion that had tried to protect Lina as best he'd been able. Zelgadis couldn't blame Xellos; he knew all too well how difficult it was to contain Hellmaster.

Lina closed her eyes, sighing as she relaxed into Zelgadis' embrace. She knew that she was safe now, knew that whatever happened between Xellos and Hellmaster, it would happen without her. She'd apologize to Xellos for not paying attention sooner, if she was given the chance.

For now, she'd cling to her husband and rest in his arms.


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter Thirty-Two

Two days passed before Jedah was seen within the walls of Saillune, a silent figure dressed much like Zelgadis, head to toe in black. To Lina, he looked older, though he wouldn't meet her eyes so she could see the blue. Did he remember that she'd been in the room when he'd arrived? Did he recall the twisted smile that had crept over his face and terrifying her into a blind panic?

She watched him walk down the hallway, unable to call out to him as he rounded the corner like a shadow. Something had happened, of that Lina was convinced. They'd all gotten word that Kyle Slidell had arrived at his father's palace, forever lost to drooling insanity. It was said that he'd read the letter of refusal in transit and the fear of failure had driven him mad.

The inner circle of Saillune's residents suspected otherwise, and Jedah's silence did nothing to dissuade them of it. The other curiosity was that Xellos was completely absent. Lina hadn't seen him since he'd sent her out of that room, and with Jedah as unapproachable as she'd found him, she wasn't entirely certain she'd ever find out.

There was one thing that Lina Inverse Greywords could not abide, and that was a mystery. She had not one, but two, and with solid determination, she turned on her heel and headed back towards the tower, with every intent of seeing if that door would open to that ruin once more. If Xellos was hiding there, it would at the very least solve that mystery.

She stood before the closed door for a moment, steeling her will and hoping against hope that it would once more open to that courtyard, knowing that Zelgadis would be annoyed with her, but also knowing that she couldn't just ask him to take her there after what had happened.

The question that she'd wanted to ask Xellos was burning in her mind like a song that she couldn't get rid of. What was going to happen to him if Jedah turned to Amelia? After all of the manipulations to get Jedah back into his life, what would Xellos do if he lost him once again?

She'd seen the shaking of the Trickster's hands, felt the heat of his skin and seen the emotion burning in his eyes. What had it meant? Was he courting that dangerous edge of power that Zelgadis had fallen prey to and seemed to be where Hellmaster resided? Lina had to know, and she took a breath, opening the door before her.

A dark room welcomed her, the tower room uninhabited and unused since the day that Naga had taken matters into her own hands and released Amelia from the impending marriage to Slidell. Granted, while that had only been three days ago, the room had been empty for far longer.

"Damn!" She cursed, though she had suspected that the gateway had been accidental and her stumbling across it was what drew attention to it. She cast a light spell, looking around the room, as if hoping to find some sort of clue as to how she might find Xellos.

"You're as insistent as ever, Lina." Xellos' voice came from behind her, and she spun to see that he was in the antechamber that she had passed through in order to get into the tower room. Had she walked past him? Perhaps.

"Xellos…" Lina said quietly, looking to him, seeing that he was far more normal than the last time she'd cast eyes on him. "You're looking better… you had me worried." His hands weren't shaking, and his closed-eye gaze was far more familiar than that wild and wide-eyed reaction he'd had before.

He moved into the room, a few casual steps that put him past her when he stopped. There was a pause, and he turned, looking to her with open violet eyes, though the pupils were normal. "I appreciate your concern, Lina. Truly, I do. But there is no need for it. In terms that would make the most sense to you, I am happy."

He put up a hand to silence her. "I don't need others close; I don't need the daily attentions of a lover or a mate. I didn't have those attentions as a mortal; I don't need them as a Mazoku." He reached out and took both of her hands in his, holding them together as if pleading with her to understand. "There are things at play that I cannot possibly begin to explain to you."

Lina simply looked to Xellos, trying to understand what he was saying. It sounded to her as if he was being incredibly selfless, and the concept of Xellos being selfless was an unnerving one at best. Generally, when Xellos was being selfless, there was more for him to gain by the sacrifice. Once again, it dawned on Lina like a blazing fireball. "Oh."

Xellos watched the light brighten in her eyes, the color tint her cheeks, and he smiled to her, a smile that was generally reserved only for Jedah, but this one time he thought that it would be worth sharing with her as well. "Yes, Lina. I love him that much. We've both had lovers off and on; both of us have spent many years apart. He's worth all of it to me."

The smile caught Lina by surprise, and she found herself returning it, found that it was as natural as her own, and felt an odd sort of warming by it. "He told me how the two of you met, got on when he thought that you were gone, destroyed by his own hand. You're special to him, I could tell that then, and I can see it now. I don't think that I'll worry about you anymore, Xellos."

And in a move that surprised them both, Lina stepped forwards and kissed Xellos on his forehead, a gentle touch of friendship that sent a strange and vaguely familiar tingle through the violet-haired Trickster Priest. He released her hands, watching stunned as she turned around and left him in that tower room, closing the door quietly behind her.


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter Thirty-Three

More days passed, Jedah a shadow within the Palace, only seen as a flicker of a presence as he rounded a corner ahead of everyone else, vanishing into a room that turned out to be empty when the door was opened.

It was enough to drive Lina mad, and that wasn't to say insane.

She was furious.

Most people knew better than to tangle with Lina when her temper was high, and the number of people who could handle the results of her anger blowing up was somewhere in the range of three.

Jedah knew that Lina was following him, knew that she was trying to catch him. He knew all too well why she was following him, and he felt his heart seize as he slipped around the corner, darting away from her.

He ducked into a room, slipping into a shadow and cloaking himself in silence, waiting for the inevitable opening of the door and her irritated snort at his vanishing act. He couldn't truly vanish, not yet, not until the draw at his power was complete… and he hadn't gotten to that end, hadn't closed the door on the one last issue leftover from the kidnapping.

The door opened, and Jedah held his breath, though he had no need to do so.

But nothing happened.

The door stayed open, and Jedah sat there, silently hoping that it was a fluke and that perhaps he hadn't latched it when he'd slipped through in his haste to evade Lina. He couldn't recall it catching as he'd slipped through it, and when he heard her footstep, he stifled a curse.

"Jedah, I know that you're in here." Lina said quietly, stepping into the room and closing the door behind her with a soft click. She leaned against the door, sighing softly. "I saw, you know. When you looked at me, I saw your eyes. I know what you were going to do."

He remained silent for a time, and slowly drew his power around him, closing his eyes. "Lina, I cannot begin to beg your forgiveness enough. I am what I am… and sometimes that has to include the monster as well as the man. I don't do a very good job of balancing them."

Lina's hand fell on his shoulder and he opened his eyes as she sat beside him on the floor, nudging him slightly with her arm as she removed her hand, letting it fall into her lap. "Do you remember when we first met? When I rebuked you, you told me I did you a discredit. You're doing that discredit to yourself now, Jedah. You have been trying to be someone, something that you aren't."

Jedah's power faltered, and faded away as he forced himself calmer, glancing in the darkness to see her eyes glittering at him. He didn't say anything, instead considering her words carefully as he turned back away and felt her shift her weight and lean against him for a moment.

"You've saved my life, Jedah. You've pulled my ass out of more than I care to think about, defended me against things that should have killed me. I may not count for much in the grand scheme of things, but I'm pretty sure that a monster wouldn't have done those things." Lina said quietly. She'd recognized the madness in Jedah's eyes when he'd appeared in that strange little room, seen it as an echo of the madness that had taken Zelgadis. The last thing that she wanted was for Jedah to fall into that madness and be swallowed by it.

For a long time, there was silence in the room. Lina wasn't certain that her words had made any effect on Jedah, but she was going to hope for the best. He hadn't left, hadn't moved… there was still some small sliver of hope that he'd start talking to her.

"I don't deserve a friendship such as yours, Lina, but I am grateful for it all the same." Jedah thought it out, weighed each word before he spoke them. "I haven't been precisely honest with you, and for that I offer my apologies. There is a game afoot, something that I cannot reveal until the moment is proper."

He could feel her tense beside him, and continued to speak quietly. "I do what I can to keep all of you from becoming involved. Amelia and Erina are beyond precious to me, and there is no way that I can allow them to come to harm. My _daughter_, Lina. Can you imagine what a prize she'd make? We were lucky that the only two who knew and were a danger could be… neutralized."

Neutralized. It was a dispassionate way to admit it, but it still jangled along Lina's nerves. "Two? Slidell and…?" Lina hadn't been aware of anyone else. "And why would Slidell have been a danger?" All she knew was that he was a snot-nosed brat who wasn't worth Amelia's time. But that was personal opinion.

"Slidell had made the Pact with Madroka, a mid-ranking Mazoku," Jedah replied. "Erina's kidnapping was his own decision, but in the course of my discourse with them, the truth came out. Understandably, I could not leave that knowledge available for others."

Lina twitched slightly, but after a moment, finally nodded her agreement. "I guess I can understand… your ways are not like mine, but I go great lengths to protect the ones I love too." She'd have destroyed Gaav, one way or the other.

"Love is a blessing and a curse," Jedah agreed. "When I was younger, I was happy enough without this mortal heart. And yet, for all the pain, I cannot say that I would ever give it up now that I have it. I'm not as skilled at being mortal as Zelgadis is, and I fear that for all my efforts, my temper is far more heated than his."  
Lina had heard a reverse of this from Zelgadis, her husband one night lamenting his inability to fully understand the breadth of his Mazoku nature. "You two truly are two sides of the same coin. You may not be brothers by birth, but by heart and mind…" She reached out and smacked Jedah on the back of his head, startling him. "So stop wallowing in your differences and just live."

For a moment, Jedah was astonished. But then he started to laugh.

Lina was right. He just needed to live.


	34. Chapter 34

34

Had anyone been bold enough to walk past the ruins of Diergat and happened to look up to the residential wing, they might have seen a figure in the upper window of the tower at the end.

But no-one walked past Diergat anymore. The strange circumstances of the fall of the monastery had ensured that. The tales of the power that had ripped through the buildings had been less than exaggerations and far, far too close to fact.

Xellos closed his eyes as the memory welled up, the day so very long ago that had started so carefree, so… normal. Evening prayers had been said and he'd headed back to his room, anticipating Jedah's arrival. It had been a month since the initial visit to the river, and he'd wanted to go to the river again, to spend the night with Jedah under the stars.

It hadn't gone that way at all. The Brotherhood had discovered traces of the magic that Jedah had at his command, had identified it as Mazoku, and laid silent traps for him, with Xelander as the bait.

Xelander closed the door of his room carelessly, undoing his shirt and falling backwards onto his bed with a soft laugh. Tonight he'd tell Jedah that he wanted to leave Diergat, wanted to run away with him. This life was doing nothing for him, nothing to broaden his views, trapped within stone walls and closed rituals. It had done what it could: introduced him to Jedah and that had opened his mind far wider than anything the brotherhood could have done.

His eyes had just slipped closed when abruptly Xelander wasn't alone in his room. The door had blown open from a foot expertly planted at the latch. Before he could move, hands gripped him, held him fast, the others of Diergat as strong as he, if not stronger. He was bound, gagged, and dragged from the solitude of his room. Confusion reigned with chaos as he was moved down the hall, fighting and kicking those who had grabbed him.

Suddenly he was free on the floor, and for a moment, he thought that he'd actually managed to stun someone with a flailing foot, but they had only let go of Xelander to push him into a tumble down the stairs. His head cracked painfully on the flagstones at the bottom, dazing him with the bright flare of white-hot pain as they picked him up again, carrying him out into the courtyard.

Slowly, he realized that those he had so recently broken bread with were turning on him, spitting and throwing curses in his face, calling him craven and debased. They called him the willing bedtoy of a Mazoku, betraying Cepheid at night while he spent his days pretending to be a priest. Xelander couldn't argue against it; it was entirely true.

While his wits still spun from the blow to his head, they pinned him to the far wall of the courtyard, unbinding his arms only to stretch them across the stones that had been heated by the sun. His thin muslin shirt provided very little protection from the burning of the reflected heat, and even though his head ached, his back suddenly burned worse. He bit down on the gag to keep from vocalizing his pain, though the widening of his blue eyes betrayed him to his captors.

"Oh, what's this? We thought you liked pain, Xelander. Isn't that why you keep with a Mazoku? It takes the fire of that pain to burn through your ice, doesn't it?" Someone called up to him as something whipped across his chest, a breathtaking pain cracking across his ribs. The whip slapped again, another blazing spark of pain flashing across his awareness as he closed his eyes.

He didn't know who spoke, couldn't identify the voice that taunted him, while another voice called out for more with forced falsetto desire in an affectation of what they thought he sounded like when with Jedah. It was designed to be humiliating, debasing, but Xelander struggled against himself, unwilling to give them what they wanted.

He wouldn't have told them that no voice was needed, that the heat was different, and that Jedah went to great lengths to avoid causing Xelander any pain or anguish. They didn't deserve the knowing of how very wrong they were, how very much akin to the wild and lesser Mazoku they were. They were, after all, only men. Xelander understood all that far better than he did before he'd met Jedah.

He struggled to support his weight away from the wall by his bound arms, but it became too much for him, however, and when the whip slashed across his stomach, not even the gag could muffle the cry of pain that escaped him as he fell back into the wall. Hot tears that had welled up behind eyes he'd screwed tightly shut spilled free, coursing trails down his cheeks and earning more catcalls from his tormentors.

His persecutors were encouraged by the visible failure of Xelander's will, and the whip bit again and again, the pain of one strike bleeding into the other until he lost count of the blows, feeling a strange disassociation from the ache of his arms and back.

The pale-haired youth opened his ice blue eyes blindly, tears and pain obscuring his vision as he struggled once more in feeble desperation against the bindings that held him in place, and the whip struck even harder in response.

His skin split under the stinging force, but he didn't feel it, didn't smell the blood as it welled up and began to soak his shirt with brilliant scarlet. His eyes rolled closed, and his awareness retreated from the pain and the jeering.

He wasn't conscious for the sudden explosion of heat and fire that opened up on the men in the courtyard, the soft voice that spoke with deep velvet tones in each of the oppressor's ears, asking them if this was enough pain, or if they needed to feel more.

Jedah had, at long last, arrived.


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter Thirty-Five

The anger of the men paled in comparison to the fury of the Son of Juuou. He was Mazoku, older than all of them combined, and far more adept in the ways of exacting pain from his victims. Anger clouded reason, and it was a cold anger that burned far hotter than any physical fire could dream of raging, and Jedah allowed his physical form to manifest before the man who held the whip.

He looked the man in the eyes, waiting as the shallow mortal mind struggled for a moment against his will, and then he took the whip from the unresisting man's hand, wrapping it carefully around the man's throat with a twirl of his finger. Jedah's smile darkened as he flickered his fingers ever so slightly, drawing the ends of the whip in opposite directions, choking the priest with slow, deliberant movements.

Another priest recovered his wits, running towards Jedah with murder clear in his eyes, but Jedah only glanced in his direction, sending a simple thought towards the man. Thousands of tiny cuts opened spontaneously on the man's skin, the spray of blood so violent that men next to him were instantly drenched.

The reality of the situation hit the men who had been tormenting Xelander, and with cries of alarm, they began to scatter for the various buildings, calling for reinforcements, for the magic users to come to aid them in a fight against the Mazoku in the courtyard who had bypassed all the traps.

Jedah sighed, snapping the whip taught and straight with a swift motion of his hand, the man's head falling away from his body, but he didn't stop to watch. Though he would have enjoyed drawing out the terror, his primary concern was to eliminate the threat to Xelander and that meant a less than casual approach.

Jedah drew his power to him, the force collecting and dulling all sound, all motion of the wind. An ominous stillness settled over Diergat, and the men who had been running in noisy panic found themselves staggering to a halt, looking around in uneasy confusion as the blanket of power folded around them with a thick cloying mist of darkness.

A shield of golden power shimmered over Xelander's limp and bleeding form against the wall, holding the injured mortal clear of the power that was building like a tempest within the walls of Diergat. Jedah knew that he needed to move quickly, but even for the Son of Juuou, magic on this scale took precious moments to collect.

Two more mortal heartbeats pulsed, and then with a silent cold fury borne of crystalline anger, they froze solid. Two moments after that, Jedah's power ripped them to shards, scattering the crystals to little more than diamond-like dust glittering in the starkly still starlit evening.

It was nearing too late by the time Jedah had managed to get Xelander safely off of the wall and he held the bleeding and broken young man in his arms, drawing apart the veil of the world to shift them both to his home, a place where no mortal had dared to set foot since the death of Terim by Jedah's hands. The fragile body in Jedah's arms was growing weaker, breath shallow and slow. Xelander couldn't survive this without assistance, but what Jedah could offer wasn't mortality.

Jedah settled the young man on a bed that wasn't there, fingers gently touching his cheek, whispering his name and willing awareness back, drawing those eyes open. "Xelander… Xelander, I'm here. You're safe now, with me on Wolf Pack Island, but you're dying. Your physical form is too injured for me to heal." For the first time in his life, Jedah tasted bitter disappointment in his throat. "I'm so sorry…"

The smile that touched Xelander's lips tried to tear Jedah in half, to rip his heart free and let it bleed there upon the floor. Nearly bloodless lips moved, a whisper touching Jedah's ears so softly that he was certain he wouldn't have heard it without his magic. "You were worth it."

Jedah's heart twisted in searing agony, and then he felt magic swell, crest, and break in the room, moving dying Mortal and mourning Mazoku to a room well hidden, where a blonde woman looked down in silent bemusement to her impossibility of a son.

Wordlessly, Jedah lifted Xelander to her, the emotion in his eyes speaking what he could not give voice, the tears sliding down his cheeks as he asked his mother for the only boon that she could give. The hardness of her expression made him close his eyes and lower his head.

The only thing that broke the silence was the faltering breathing of the Mortal, and Jedah was keenly aware of the moment the next breath didn't come. He lifted his head, eyes opening wildly as he looked to Xelander, saw his mother standing over them, her lips on Xelander's, saw the shimmer of power as she gave him breath of a different kind.

Jedah watched as Xelander's hair darkened, a ripple of power washing over him and shading his hair and clothing purple. He saw the limp hand twitch, fingers splaying wildly as his fading mortality was replaced by the sudden rebirth of Mazoku. He knew the pain that tore through the physical shell, with a sudden desire to taste it on his lips, to see it reflected within eyes that had not yet opened.

Juuou turned silently, releasing the violet-tinted youth, regarding her son once more, the stormy black-haired youth with blue eyes that looked so very much like Terim's. "See that my General-Priest Xellos is well cared for, Jedah. His hunger will be great. Do what you can to sate him."

Jedah hadn't needed another invitation.

Xellos opened his eyes, his fingers on his lips as he remembered that kiss that had granted both death and life at the same time. He had not lied to Jedah even then. Jedah had been worth it all, and while he owed no allegiance to Jedah, he loved him even so. It tied him tighter than simple allegiance ever could. Even now, Xellos had to agree.

Jedah was worth it all.


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter Thirty-Six

The Naming Ceremony had gone without as much as a sniff of disapproval, due in large part to the slightly twisted white lie that had been allowed to run free as truth. Rumor had it that the reason that Jedah hadn't been seen was that he and Amelia had secretly married, and he'd been caring for their child until appropriate for the announcement.

Never let it be said that Rumor didn't have its place in a kingdom.

Jedah had been all too keenly aware of that rumor, for it was he who had first whispered it within a tavern, giving it wings and life to spread across Saillune with the speed that only the working class could manage. This largely meant that the day after Jedah had whispered it in a bar on the far side of town, the Palace servants were looking at him with secretive knowing smiles.

It was so fairy tale that it made his teeth hurt.

The day's next order of business was to officially announce the removal of Jedah from the Council, and during that, Amelia had planned that Jedah would be revealed as the Scion of Ambervale, granting him title and rank to be equal and partner. But Jedah had other plans, as usual. He simply needed to wait until the proper moment to reveal them.

That moment came in the silence before Amelia's announcement of his removal from the Council.

Jedah rose quietly from the seat that he had only occupied for show, moving across the front of the room to kneel before Amelia in the throne. "My Queen, it has been my pleasure to serve you as your High Sorcerer, and I shall continue to aid you as long as you will have me. But, I fear that I have not been entirely forthcoming in certain matters, and I beg you give me leave to address both yourself and your people."

There was silence for a long moment as Amelia looked to Jedah, very carefully concealing any alarm that she might have had. Certainly he wouldn't be intending to reveal his identity as Hellmaster; that would be tantamount to cataclysmic. Painfully aware that everyone was looking to her for an answer, she simply nodded her head, her face clear and still.

Jedah nodded, though more to himself than to Amelia, and straightened, turning to look around the room, as if in attempt to make eye contact with all within the Council. "Many of you know me as Jedah Greywords, related in some fashion or another to Zelgadis Greywords, though it's never been made clear how. Many of you wondered how it was that I came to be High Sorcerer, myself included." He laughed a little, self-depreciatingly, and it eased the tension in the room as others chuckled along with him.

"But in order to explain to you the truth, I need to tell you a story. It's not a long story, so we won't be here past lunch." He flashed a grin across the room, not needing to turn on the charm, but hinting at it anyway. When the second ripple of amusement had settled, Jedah continued.

"Many of you know the Tale of Ambervale, and the madness that consumed the inhabitants. It's a story almost as grim as Sairaag's fall at the hands of Hellmaster Phibrizzo." Jedah watched those listening as they nodded, and smiled grimly in reaction. "Time has faded the memories, has obscured the names of the ruling family, though perhaps that was in part the doings of the Red Priest Rezo."

Gasps came from around the room, everyone keenly aware of the Red Priest and his sudden shift from Cepheid to Shabranigdo. Amelia sat straighter, wondering what Jedah was playing, but she remained silent as Lina stared at her from across the room next to Zelgadis. She could almost hear Lina beg her to be quiet.

"What time has forgotten was that Rezo himself was a Son of Ambervale, though he was not in line to rule. He was the second son of Lord Terim, though the first son had no desire to lay claim, and refused the title. Because Rezo was a priest, he could not rule, and the rule lay uneasily in the hands of his daughter Jennia, for what young Lord has not had his moments of indiscretion?"

A curious stillness had fallen over the room, for Jedah was giving voice to things that until now had only been whispers of rumored truths that had struggled to remain alive through recent memory. When Lina glanced to Zelgadis, she could see that he had grown quite pale, and rested her hand on his arm.

"Rezo acknowledged her, and gave her his name, and she grew to be a powerful Shaman in her own right, leading the people of Ambervale with kindness and love. Unfortunately, that kindness was what invited the evil that brought the plague and the initial downfall of the lands. Jennia's son was born into the plague, and he was taken away from the city proper by Rezo."

"In time, Rezo's older brother learned of the plight of Ambervale, and returned to try to help rebuild what was left. When he learned of Jennia's death and the birth of her son, he reluctantly took the title of Ambervale, claiming his birthname: Jedaikun." Jedah paused as the Council members murmured amongst themselves, and then he lifted his hands to still them, letting the silence settle for a few moments.

When Jedah finally spoke, his voice was clear and powerful, though he used nothing of his powers to amplify it. "I am Jedaikun, older brother of Rezo. It was I who stilled the attacks, and it was my powers that sent the people away from the ruins that were left. I held the lands in trust while I sought out the missing Son of Ambervale, so that I could restore him to his birthright."

Lifting a hand, Jedah pointed across the room, his clear blue eyes fixing on Zelgadis. "I name him now, the son of Jennia Greywords Ambervale and the Heir to the title and lands that I currently hold in trust: Zelgadis Greywords san Ambervale."


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Zelgadis stood silently as the room exploded into chaos at Jedah's words. The trouble with Jedah's story was that it was completely and totally true, right down to the name of his mother… though Zelgadis hadn't known it until the moment Jedah spoke it. It stunned him, rendered him speechless as the cacophony of noise thundered around him until Jedah lifted his hands and the room stilled once more.

"There are paths in this world that some of us take; some are paths that we never dream of taking, others are paths that have been chosen for us by others," Jedah continued after a moment. I chose my path, though it led to magic that I dared not dream of possessing."

Jedah gestured to Lina and Zelgadis, a causal motion that implicated himself as well. "Magic does fantastical things. Some of us become so steeped in it that it changes us fundamentally. We do not age as others age, do not eat or breathe, or even sleep. Sometimes what we become is so far from where we started that we dedicate our existences to returning to that which we lost."

The silence that fell was almost absolute. Everyone within the room knew the story of Zelgadis. Everyone knew the cursed youth of stone who had been Amelia's friend and then bodyguard. They all knew that he had found a cure, though it had very nearly driven him mad. Indeed, the longer Jedah gave them to think about it, the less it surprised them to think that he was Ambervale.

"I'm not perfect either; indeed I am far from it." Jedah gave a little half-smile as he turned around the room once more before stopping and looking to Amelia. With two steps, he approached the throne and lowered his gaze to the floor. "But, my Queen, you know who I am. I have stood by your side and supported you in everything that you chose to do. And while I find it extraordinarily unsettling, I feel that I must ask something of you."

"I wish to vacate my position on the Council, to relinquish it to my nephew Zelgadis. He holds rank and title that may never again return to the power that it once held, though his magic may yet be a boon to us all." Jedah chanced a glance to Naga, and thoroughly convinced that he'd end up in enough pain to happily live a year without worry, kept going.

"Rumor whispers in the shadows many things, some truths and some fictions. I would prefer to shed the veil of deceit and grant the people what they want." Jedah sensed the murmurs before they started and worked his jaw for a moment to keep from smiling as he looked up in all seriousness to the woman who was Queen.

"I swore my loyalty to you in a heated rush, a wild and unprecedented action that I do not regret." He spoke slowly, quietly, reaching up to the cord that bound his hair back from his face. Black hair tumbled freely about his shoulders as he pulled the cord free and began to wind it around his finger, looking back down as he continued.

"And I gave you my heart in a crystal goblet in a room far from here before you were Queen." Magic flared, though Jedah concealed what he was doing as he spoke once more. "My magic has been yours for years, and I have no lands with which to gift you, for I walked away from those long before I met you."

Jedah offered Amelia his hand, fingers uncurling to reveal what his magic had wrought within his closed grasp. The cord that had bound his hair had become a beautiful ring of circled gold, glittering with the remnants of the magic that had crafted it. "All I have left is to give to you myself, this fragile shell that walks this world. As long as you will have me, I, Jedaikun nels Ambervale will be yours."

Naga had thought that her off the cuff demotion of Jedah, promotion of Zelgadis and subsequent dissolution of any relations between Kyle and Amelia had been smooth. But as the ring glittered in Jedah's outstretched hand, she knew that Jedah outclassed her on so many levels that she couldn't begin to conceptualize it.

With his impromptu filibuster, Jedah had claimed Ambervale, identified himself and Zelgadis, relinquished Ambervale to Zelgadis, and then seemingly removed himself from the sphere of power in Saillune. Furthermore, he had given that power openly to the next obvious successor, again Zelgadis, and rounded it out with a confession of previous actions with Amelia (confirming the rumor that Erina was his child) and closed it with a proposal of marriage.

And by looking across the room to Lina and Zelgadis, Naga could tell that they'd both arrived at the same conclusion she had, and that they were just as flabbergasted as she was. But what, wondered Naga as she turned to look to her sister, did Amelia think?

The Queen of Saillune sat very still, and the silence in the room grew heavy and cloying. Jedah hadn't looked up, hadn't dared to try, but he felt his eyes lifting against his better judgment, his neck tilting to lift his head and his gaze to seek out hers.

She looked to him for a moment, and ever so slowly, her lips quirked. She rose from the throne, placing her hand in his, pinning the ring between their palms, and looked to the Council members within the room. "For once, I could care less what the Council says, or does. Jedaikun nels Ambervale, I, Amelia wil Tesla Saillune accept your gift, and in exchange, I give you my hand."

Jedah rose, a fluid movement pulling Amelia into him, kissing her without giving the Council a moment to react. Perhaps in time, he would lament his choice to marry the mortal Queen who had so carelessly stolen his heart. But as he had decided, as long as he stayed true to himself, he would accept whatever came of his decisions.

So he kissed her long and hard and almost didn't hear the cheers that broke out around them.


	38. Chapter 38

38

Hours after the bizarre announcement, Zelgadis had finally had it with Jedah and grabbed him by the shoulder, pulling him into the tower room high above Saillune. Barriers slammed into place, protecting the Palace residents at large from the potential dangers of an all-out fight, not that Zelgadis expected much of one. Jedah looked nearly drunk on his own audacity.

"Are you mad? Have you taken a full and complete leave of your senses? Marry Amelia? Drop the Council and _Ambervale_ on my unsuspecting head?" Zelgadis was beyond incredulous, but he hadn't quite reached furious. That depended entirely on what Jedah said and did.

Jedah simply grinned. "Perhaps. Perhaps not. Either way, it's my story, not yours. You married the woman that you love, Zelgadis. It seems only natural that I should have the same freedoms." He was high on the mixture of emotion that had rippled through the Council during his storytelling, what he'd picked up from Naga alone had been more than enough to last him quite a long time.

Zelgadis glared at Jedah, sapphire blue eyes flashing his annoyance. "I didn't want a seat on the Council, Jedah. I sure as Hell didn't want Ambervale." Privately, he had to admit that he could have lived with the Council appointment. That wouldn't have bothered him too much. But Ambervale… that had been too much. Especially as he'd just given it to Jedah.

"Well, you hold both now, so rise to the occasion, Zelgadis." Jedah grinned that incredibly annoying and cheery grin of his, all teeth and sparkle. The damnable charm of it worked on Man and Mazoku alike, and Zelgadis had to fight the effects with more than a casual thought.

"I destroyed Ambervale, Jedah. My hands, my magic. I was the attacker that you stopped." Zelgadis had noticed the casual lack of information that Jedah had given about that, too. He hadn't identified the attacker in his dissertation. "Though I do appreciate you not naming me as the perpetrator of those crimes." He released Jedah's shoulder and turned away, pinching the bridge of his nose as he sighed, trying to decide what he could do to stabilize the situation.

Jedah stopped grinning, catching Zelgadis' arm and looking at the other man in complete and hard honesty. "That wasn't you, Zelgadis. That was Shabranigdo pulling the strings by which you were made to dance. You aren't the cold-blooded killer kind. Not like me, not like Rezo. You prefer the evils of the mind, the games of cat and mouse that are played my minds that match your own. You have no need or desire for mindless terrors that can be easily gained."

Zelgadis blinked, the words ringing true within his awareness. He'd not yet found his ultimate fulfillment, and he had attributed it to a lack of desire to actively seek it. But if mindgames were his realm… it made a good deal of sense. "That still doesn't make it right, Jedah. I served as the vessel for which the power to ruin a kingdom was brought to this world. My home, my birthplace. Shabranigdo or myself… what does it matter who was puppet and who held the strings? In the end, Ambervale still lies ruined."

"So rebuild it." Jedah retorted, dropping his hand, his gaze hardening further. "Atone for your perceived sin by making that title mean something again. Stop bellyaching about the past and do something about the future, because let me tell you something, Zelgadis; you don't have the corner on 'tragic past.' Hell, I don't even have that corner, and I'd say that my childhood was a good deal worse than yours."

"Jedah, what could be worse than learning that everything you remembered was false? That the memories I cherished of a little brother underfoot were lies made up by the supposed little brother in order to conceal the truth that he was the child of a Mazoku Lord, and significantly older? What truth could possibly be worse than growing up as a lie?" Zelgadis' voice was bleak, empty and tinged with a despair that he had learned to hide from even Lina's knowledge.

That question struck home; Jedah clearly wincing from the verbal blow. But instead of rising to the bait before him, a wry smile twisted his lips, and those winter blue eyes met Zelgadis' sapphire ones. "See? I was right. Mindgames are your specialty." He turned away, walking quietly across the tower room to lean out the window and close his eyes, feeling the wind against his face for a moment. When he'd let it go as long as he dared, he turned back into the room. "Zel…" He sighed again, shaking his head. "I understand, and you're right, of course. I had no business involving myself in your life."

Jedah couldn't look at Zelgadis, couldn't dare meet the eyes of the man who stood as Mazoku because of events that Jedah himself had partially orchestrated. He'd thought that they had hashed this out before, but the truth of the matter had only been lightly touched. He knew that he'd dropped the name of Zelgadis' mother, but he'd thought that at the very least, Rezo would have granted him that knowledge. If his brother hadn't been damned from the start, Jedah would have damned him all over again for it.

"I don't want to get in a fight with you, Zelgadis," Jedah said quietly, looking at the floor and studying the toes of his boots. "I don't want to throw fists, words, or magic. I've told you why I did what I did all those years ago, and my resolve hasn't changed. I wish that things had not gone as they did, wish that the sins of my brother did not weigh so heavily upon you. But he did what he did, and I did what I did."

Jedah wasn't looking up, didn't see Zelgadis's shoulders drop, and his eyes close painfully. "That wasn't my question, Jedah. I know all of that. I accept it." There was a sound, and Jedah lifted his gaze to see Zelgadis draw a table and chairs into the room, calling them from somewhere else. "And if you don't want to fight, then at least sit with me and talk. Years ago, you caught me up and forced me to listen. Now it's my turn. But I won't force you; I'll simply ask. Are you willing to learn the true nature of the Mortal heart?"


	39. Chapter 39

39

Lina was making a fairly decent attempt at ignoring the shock that had jolted her when Jedah had returned Ambervale to Zelgadis… and subsequently herself, as the new Lady Ambervale. She didn't want that, not at this point in her life. Sure, way before she'd actually matured enough to accept the idea of marriage, she had wanted power and a name for herself and all the gold and jewels that she could get her hands on.

But there was more to life than that. It had just taken her a while to learn it.

She'd walked the Palace grounds, working through her thoughts, eventually making her way outside to the bench next to the pond. If she knew Zelgadis, he'd be full of ideas to rebuild Ambervale and try to make reparations on the crimes that had been committed with his hands. He still held himself responsible, Lina knew.

Though it exasperated her to no end, she loved him all the more for his willingness to do so.

There was movement, and a figure sat on the bench next to her, a dark cloak wrapped about the figure's left arm, as if the momentary companion were simply preparing to leave after a few casual words. "I am given to understand that Jedah made quite the scene today."

Lina looked up and over, startling a bit when she saw that it was Xellos, gripping his staff with his right hand. "Oh, Xellos. Yeah, he certainly surprised everyone in there." She shook her head slowly, casting a glance over the Trickster Priest. "You aren't staying." It wasn't a question, and she watched him look away without meeting her eyes.

"You asked me why I stayed, and I had no answer for you," Xellos replied instead. "I stayed because it entertained me." He turned back to her, grinning cheerfully, his eyes closed and hidden from view. Before she could react, however, his eyes opened and he looked at her, all trace of humor gone.

"Lina, do not mistake me. I do what I do to ensure that Jedah is happy. Nothing more, nothing less." He lifted his hand to stay her retort, watching her with vibrantly violet eyes. "Yes, I do. I love him far more than I should, but there is no way for us. That is my burden, my sacrifice, if you will." The slightest of quirks touched his lips, a hint of a smile flickering for a moment before it passed.

"Perhaps, Lina, it might be a question worthy of asking: Why was I not assigned to his hand when I crossed that line so very long ago. You wouldn't get an answer, of course, but it bears some consideration, don't you think?" Xellos took Lina's hand as he spoke, raising it to his lips in a old and formal gesture, once again bidding her into silence. "If I do not see you again, live well, Lina Ambervale."

He was gone before his lips could touch her fingers, but she could feel the warmth of his breath as clear as if he had kissed them. She drew her hand back, letting it fall into her lap as she gazed out through the space where Xellos had been. His burden? His sacrifice? No way to be with Jedah…? What had he been trying to say?

She lowered her head, and her gaze caught on an envelope. The paper was white and crisp, and she knew that it hadn't been there earlier. She reached out, picking it up and seeing her name written on it in perfect script, the flourished kind that she'd seen in writs of Cepheid and books of historical worth.

Xellos must have left it for her, perhaps he was simply a messenger. She wouldn't know until she read it… and she wouldn't read it out here. She rose from the bench, and turned back towards the Palace. She'd read it in the room that she and Zelgadis had been given, somewhere with some modicum of privacy.

Lina closed the door behind her, throwing the bolt across and sealing it with her own locking spell. It wouldn't keep out those who truly wanted in; it was more to keep the servants from walking in while she was reading. The last thing she wanted was to be engrossed in the letter and not hear a servant come in. Not only would the backfire of getting spooked be difficult to explain, so too would be the contents of the letter after a half-dozen servants had whispered it all over the Palace.

She crossed the room and settled into the window seat, kicking off her boots and making herself comfortable before she turned the envelope in her hands and broke the seal. It shattered like brittle wax, startling her into realizing that it _was_ wax, and not a magical seal at all. A quick scan revealed no magic at all associated with the letter, and carefully, she opened the envelope and slid out the paper within.

The script was painfully neat and clear, row after row of perfect letters forming perfect words and even more perfect sentences. All told, there were three pages full of neat writing, the ink still clear and new. On impulse, Lina lifted a page to her nose, and she could scent the ink, could almost see the paper on Xellos' desk in the room upstairs in Diergat.

It was rough linen paper, the kind that was castoff from the making of books found in great libraries such as the one that Diergat had housed. It had age, too, having turned a gentle ivory over time, lending it an older feel that didn't match the freshness of the ink.

She lowered the page, finally setting her eyes on the words with the intention of reading the letter. Whatever Xellos had not been able to tell her in voice, he had left her these three pages of words. At the very least, she owed it to him to read it and see what he had wanted to tell her so badly that he had taken the time to write it out.


	40. Chapter 39 The Letter

Xellos' Letter

It has been long since I put ink on paper, and even longer since I have done it to impart words that could not be given voice. Please forgive the nature of this missive, for there will come to light things that simply have no explanation.

You know me as Xellos Metallium, the Trickster Priest Mazoku, General to Beastmaster Zelas. Before I met Jedah, I was known by a different name, though only my given name has survived memory to be told. I was once Xelander, an ill-fitting addition to a chaotic household of six, three boys and three girls. I was number seven… and quite the unlucky to boot.

As a child, I was frail. Pale and colorless, my hair was as black as night and my eyes were a startling cobalt blue. I resembled none of my siblings in color or face, and it was generally thought that I was someone elses' child when meeting people for the first time.

Generally, I kept to myself, cultivating a sharp and cutting wit to guard myself from the jeers and the jests from other children. By the time I was twelve, I had the nickname of the Iceman. Children can be far crueler than even the most determined of Mazoku, and I was no exception.

You wonder why I tell you this, why I reveal this information to you, hidden secrets of a past that originates before the Koma War, before the fall of the Ancient Dragons. I tell you, not because I seek pity or forgiveness, but because it will help you understand.

The youngest in a family as large as mine survives by wit and will alone. It wasn't easy, and perhaps explains why I went into the priesthood as fast as I could manage it.

I was all of nine when I walked into the monastery of Diergat under my own volition. They turned me around and sent me home, though I would return many times, each time staying longer and longer, pouring over everything I could possibly read and often being chased out of the Library at the last moment before vespers.

It was quiet in the monastery, a welcome change from the screaming and the constant squabble of my siblings, none of which I felt overmuch affection for. I bothered none who resided within the walls, keeping to myself, learning what I could. History, magic, strategy, anything and everything that I could read and comprehend, I did.

But what truly caught me, what finally broke my self-imposed shell and bade me speak to the Prior, was art. The giltwork on illuminated manuscripts fascinated me, and the lines that contained the rich reds and blues were frequent subjects of study. I wanted to create such color, to capture that brilliant light within my own hand and draw it upon paper to create beauty.

I am certain that the Prior was bemused when I asked what light had captured the hues upon the paper, but he told me of inks and stains, how ordinary plants lent themselves to the task of coloring our world, and how, with work, one might render those colors down into the ink that was used to illuminate art.

By my tenth year, I had manufacted my own inks, and my hands were often stained by the plants I used to create them. To test the inks, I would find scraps of clothing gone too far to repair, and drop the ink in small droplets to see how the hues looked. Finally, pleased with my efforts, I brought them to the monastery. The Prior was so surprised that he gave me a silver for my efforts and told me that I should continue my attempts.

I kept that silver, though it could have fed my family for a month, perhaps two. In the secret dead of night, I crafted a pouch and tied it around my neck, where it remained for many years. It reminded me that hard work was rewarded, and that I had done it on my own without anyone else helping.

I returned many times to the monastery, until I was an almost regular sight within the Library, reading and carefully copying words on scraps of parchment that the Prior would give me in exchange for inks. Finally, just before my thirteenth birthday, I was allowed to stay, and I became a scribe, as most magics were lost to me, though I understood the mechanics.

A simple light spell could drain me of will and strength for days, burning me out in the effort and draining my hair and eyes of color. I chose not to let it stop me, and in time, my hair turned as colorless as to be see-through and my eyes a vaguely blue-tinted crystal. I cared nothing for it, and kept going.

Life in Diergat was tolerable, the work was hard, but I knew that the reward would be great. After all, I had the silver around my neck to remind me. If a simple bottle of ink had secured me a silver… what possible riches could await me from hard work at the monastery?

I had no idea.

For two years, I put my heart and soul into the monastery. I worked hard, the labor granting me strength and physical form that I barely even noticed. Though when I went to town for supplies, it was clear girls who had not so much as known I was there before were suddenly drawn to me. They'd stop talking, turning to stare unabashedly at me as I made my way through the streets, and on rare occasions, I would smile and watch them start to twitter.

It was a power all of my own… and would be the source of amazing heartbreak before I knew it.

For as developed as my illuminating art was, I was woefully lacking in the social arts, often staring uncomprehending as all efforts a girl might have been making to flirt went right over my head. My failure to understand women marked me as one who sought the company of men… though that too had little effect in reaching through my defenses.

Far too often, I would misunderstand an advance and with my casual replies, I was the cruelest of companions, often leaving them in tears when I hadn't meant to. The aging Prior was concerned, and tried his best to teach me how to care for another soul, but he left the world before I understood, and I think perhaps his death pushed me even father from caring for another.

Until one day when I was bathing in the river, and I felt eyes upon my back. I'm not entirely certain what made me open my mouth, for I had not turned to see who it was who watched me. But I asked them if they liked what they saw.

To my complete astonishment, he walked into the water, fully clothed and informed me that he did. I laughed, by way of covering my surprise, and informed him that he must not know who I was. He smiled as I introduced myself, and then bowed and introduced himself. Jedah, Mazoku son of Juuou. Before I could think further, he had vanished.

I was fascinated.

I suppose that I should have sounded an alarm, alerted the others to Jedah's presence, but when he appeared, I became so distracted that I lost all thoughts of doing so. Finally, at last, someone was paying attention to me. Me, not my art, not my perfectly-penned script or my ink formulae, but me.

We spent more and more time together, fascination growing into something deeper, an affection that took root within my heart and awoke me to strange thoughts and even stranger dreams. When the riverbank crumbled and nearly sent him tumbling, my shell of ice shattered and my world changed.

The day that they came for me is a blur of pain. I was gagged, bound, dragged down the hallway and pushed down the stairs. They tied me to the rose wall and whipped me, the pain beyond any that I had ever felt before. I remember fading into a deep velvet blackness, slipping away from the pain, only vaguely aware of his voice calling me from beyond a great distance.

I opened my eyes, lost from the pain and unsure where I was. It didn't matter, for I knew that I was dying. My life was spilled around me in scarlet hues that I never had quite mastered in ink. I didn't care about myself; he was crying. I wanted to reassure him, to hold him and tell him that everything was fine and that as long as he was there, it was worth it. The words I managed before the darkness swept over me again were that he was worth it. And he was.

I awoke to pain beyond that of my physical body, pain that tore through me with ruthless fingers, raking my spirit asunder and seeking the very core of my Self. I felt an awareness pushing itself into me, a force beyond my understanding, feral, fierce, female. The pain entranced me, caught me and seduced me, burning me with agonizing delight and forcing me to open myself, to want it, to need it.

To love it.

It burst within me, a force that I did not realize was at my command, catching her and binding her to me, surprising us both as she drew back in ancient terror. This she did not understand, did not desire, but was done regardless. I was bound to her, and her to me, as if my heart had needed to protect itself, and so had caught the nearest thing it could: Juuou.

I remember how she dropped me, how I fell to the black marble floor, empty and spent. I needed, as a thirsty man needs water, I needed, but I did not know what it was I sought. Not until his lips met mine, not until I felt his hands against my body and the sudden fire that leapt through me with a pain that filled me beyond words.

My heart had bound to Juuou, though it wanted to be bound to Jedah's, and that pain filled me with delights that no Mortal could comprehend. To be with him for too long would be dangerous, for more reasons than I could name.

Now, perhaps you will understand, Lina, and perhaps you will not blame me when I leave this for you as I depart and leave Jedah to his happiness. In time, his path and mine will cross again, and we will start our dance once more. The pain delights, near or far.

It is the nature of this Mazoku that loves.


	41. Chapter 40

Chapter Forty

It had taken some time to convince Jedah to sit at the table, but once Zelgadis had started talking, Jedah relaxed some, at length starting to respond. By the time tea was served, Jedah was chuckling and offering his own commentary.

Zelgadis treated the situation no differently than normal, simply talking and spending time with Jedah as he did in the days before he'd known Lina. He didn't have the hood and mask anymore, but that didn't matter. Coffee had been drawn forth, and it prompted Zelgadis to tell a humorous story of a time Lina had tried to buy him some that had backfired.

Jedah chuckled and shook his head. "That was a good one, though I'll bet that Lina didn't let you forget for a while." He lowered his cup, and looked to Zelgadis for a moment. "Though, I must admit, I'm not certain what any of this has to do with learning to live with the Mortal heart."

Zelgadis placed his cup on the table and regarded Jedah for a moment, his eyes unreadable. "This has everything to do with it. The story, this coffee, this table in this room. We are sitting here, talking and laughing."

The frown knitted Jedah's eyebrows, and he shook his head slowly, looking to the table in consternation. "But this is nothing new." He waved his hand in vague irritation at the sugar and the pastries. "There is nothing magical or different about this."

"Exactly." Zelgadis replied with a quirked smile. "Living with a Mortal heart is nothing new, Jedah. You do it without realizing, just as I drew on my own Mazoku powers without knowing it. It is as natural as breathing; even though it isn't necessary, you still do so. It's when you try that things go a little topsy-turvy."

Jedah felt as if a lightning spell had been cast upon him. His skin tingled, his heart skipped a fraction of a beat and then did some double-time to make up for it. Zelgadis was right, when he tried; he invariably overdid it, causing a scene and heartache for all involved. But when he didn't push, when he simply acted as himself… the pieces fell into place and he looked up in surprise.

Zelgadis saw the comprehension, the proverbial lightbulb illuminate, and he lifted his coffee. "You taught me to accept my nature, though it took a good deal of drama and heartache to do so. It nearly destroyed the lives of those we love, and I believe that I am ever grateful that it didn't come to that again." He took a sip and then allowed the cup to simply fade from existence.

"Jedah, you have a good heart. Listen to it, and follow what it says. When you absolutely must rage and fire… come find me. But for now, go to Amelia and just be yourself." Zelgadis didn't give Jedah the chance to protest, his magic washing out and sending the seeming youth off to the gardens where Amelia was spending time with her daughter.

A moment later, the room within the tower was empty.

The door was locked, and Zelgadis could feel the glitter of Lina's spell at the latch, so he did the most normal thing: he simply walked through the door itself. Granted, for most people, normal would have been to pound on the door until Lina opened it, but Zelgadis was far from normal. Though he had tried, he never truly had been.

Lina sat in the windowseat, her hair tumbled freely about her, catching the light from the sun and glinting in shades of amber and gold. So too glittered the tears in her eyes that trailed down her cheeks, and Zelgadis moved across the room in quick concern. "Lina?" His voice was low and soft, and he saw her start slightly and fold the letter she was holding into her hands.

"I'm okay, Zel…" Lina tucked the letter away and looked up to Zelgadis, offering him a smile through the track of the tears that the letter she'd received had evoked. "I was just reading something, that's all. Did you work Jedah out?"

He reached out, cradling her face with both hands and wiping her tears gently with his thumbs. "I think he figured it out. Now, what's made you cry?" Zelgadis kneeled to look into her eyes, surprised to feel the gentle protectiveness rising within him.

She pitched herself into him, hugging him close and startling him into pulling her closer to him. "Zel… I'm so glad we managed to stay together. After everything that happened… I could have so easily lost you."

It flashed across Zelgadis' memory that he had lost her, had felt that soul tearing moment when she'd stopped breathing in that hidden room, felt her tremulous attempt to breathe again in the Palace, and then felt her stop once again before Jedah had launched himself at Zelgadis. But he said nothing, instead embracing her tightly and breathing into her hair. "I'm right here, Lina."

He didn't know what had brought this on, but he just held her close, listening to her breathe, listening to her heart as it skipped a little rhythm before settling into a smooth and steady beat. She was calming, easing into him, and he smiled as he settled her back and looked to her. "Better now?"

She nodded, bringing her hand to his cheek, resting her fingers there as she spoke. "Thank you." With a little smile of apology, she sat up and settled herself back on the window seat. "He's gone, you know. Xellos. I'm not sure he's coming back for a while. He told me to live well."

As Zelgadis watched, Lina turned her gaze out to the sky again, the light glinting in her eyes. "I understand now, why Xellos does what he does. He's not like you or Jedah, with the freedom to choose who to be with. If he was, he would have chosen Jedah long ago."

He frowned slightly, tilting his head. "How do you know, Lina? To my knowledge, Xellos isn't the kind to spill all of his secrets for free." Was that why Lina had been crying? What had she given up to learn the secret that he held? He blinked as Lina handed over the letter, and then he took it, unfolded it, and began to read.


	42. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

The days before the wedding were stressful ones, a seemingly endless parade of hopefuls bringing gowns for Amelia to view, foodstuffs abounding in bids to cater the event… by the time Amelia had chosen her gown, Lina was ready to escape.

Even Zelgadis had to agree that Ambervale would be easier to deal with, and went off to spend most of the days walking the ruins and trying to decide if he wanted to rebuild it or let it stay.

Lina, unfortunately, was dragged kicking and screaming into helping with decorations, catering, and guests. On more than one occasion she suggested that Amelia and Jedah simply get married in a private ceremony, but Naga and Amelia both voted her out.

So Lina was stuck playing wedding planner.

But the day itself had at last arrived, and Lina stood in the dressing room, wearing a green velvet gown and watching a maid coerce Amelia's hair into a chignon that would fit with the Royal Crown. There had been one last detail that Lina hadn't yet figured out, hadn't managed to pry out of anyone, and she finally asked Amelia. "Amelia… do you have an escort?"

The pause was a little more telling than Amelia would have liked, but she did eventually wave off the maid and place the crown on her head. "I do have an escort, so you may tell Zelgadis that he is free from that burden." She wasn't certain it would work, wasn't entirely convinced it was a good idea, but she'd handle any outcry afterwards. Her father wasn't here, Naga had no desire, and though unconventional, her projected escort would manage.

Lina tilted her head, but nodded as she moved over to pin the veil to Amelia's hair. "You're stunning, Amelia. Everything the people want to see and more than Jedah could have hoped for. I'm glad it worked out in the end." She knew that Jedah had been desperate for a reason to stay, for some way to be able to stand with the proper mortal rank to be with Amelia. Lina's husband had made it possible.

"Lina… when this is through, whatever help you might need with Ambervale… I'll be more than happy to help," Amelia said, resting a hand on Lina's arm. "You've done so much for me, for Jedah… you and Zelgadis have both done so much." Her blue eyes were sincere; an earnest light in them that reminded Lina of Amelia when she'd first sought magic lessons.

Lina smiled; obviously Amelia had forgotten that Zelgadis had the power to restore Ambervale with less than a complete thought, if he desired it. "We appreciate that, Amelia. But right now, we should get you out the door and ready to go." It was almost time, and Lina would never live it down if Amelia was late.

"Go ahead, Lina. I'll be out in a moment. There's one last thing that I need to do before I go out there." Amelia's fingers rested on the small portrait of her father, and it didn't take much for Lina to get the idea. With a sympathetic smile, Lina slipped out of the room and walked down to the chapel to meet up with Zelgadis.

Shortly after Lina arrived, Sylphiel and Gourry finally managed to make their way to the chapel, having visited the nursery to leave their daughter in the capable care of the staff. They only had moments to catch up with each other before Jedah entered from the foyer, closing the doors quietly behind him.

He was dressed from head to foot in black, a startlingly formal figure with his hair pulled back and all semblances of youth long gone. He paused for a moment, as if taking up his courage, and then moved down the aisle, a smooth figure in command until a voice called him back, and he turned with surprise evident on his face.

The woman who had appeared at the doorway was slender, tall, and golden-blonde. Under normal circumstances, she might have worn white, but today she had opted for a soft yellow gown that accentuated the hues of her hair. Two steps brought her within reach of Jedah, and she spoke clearly and softly, her voice tinted with bemusement. "I give you my blessing, my son. Treat her properly."

For a moment, it looked as if Jedah would shatter from the shock. It passed, however, and a rakish grin played across his face as he took his mother's hands and kissed them. "Thank you, Mother. Your blessing means more than you can possibly imagine." A formality, they both knew, but it looked good for those who were watching with open mouths. It did mean much that she had been willing to come and grant him her blessing. He offered his arm, and walked his mother to a seat before he took his place at the head of the aisle.

Now, all they needed was Amelia.

The doors opened with a magical flourish, and all rose to turn and see the pair standing in the doorway. Amelia was perfection, the very image of the blushing bride, white gown and veil precise in every detail.

At her side, arm crooked for her hand, stood a tall man, slight of build. He was garbed in heavy black ceremonial robes, his long silver hair pulled out of his face, revealing pale blue eyes and a perfectly patent smile.

With a jolt, Lina realized who it was. She caught Zelgadis' arm but instead of looking to her husband, she looked to Jedah, almost afraid of what his reaction might be. The last thing that she needed was Jedah going ballistic.

But Jedah hadn't moved. He was rooted to the spot, frozen by an even sharper realization. While Zelas could grant him her blessing in public, the one other whose blessing he sought could not. Or so Jedah had thought. But there he stood, proud and strong and as beautiful as the day that they had first met.

Xellos had come to give Amelia to Jedah.


	43. Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Xellos stood next to Amelia, uncertain that this had been such a good idea. He'd wanted to be there, wanted to let Jedah know that all was well, that he understood and accepted the inevitable. They couldn't be more than the most casual of companions, so he couldn't argue Jedah the happiness.

Beside him, Amelia could sense his uncertainty. She reached up and patted his arm lightly. "Thank you, my friend, for this. I am honored that you are willing to gift me with this sacrifice." She knew the sacrifice that it was, knew because she and Xellos had spoken at great lengths.

To Amelia and Amelia alone, he had revealed his secrets, told her nearly everything, more than he had written to Lina in the letter that he had left her. Only Amelia knew the depths of the love and pain that Xellos existed with. She knew the nature of the Mazoku, knew that Jedah would need releases that she herself was not capable of granting. She also knew how it would ease Jedah and Xellos both, though the concept was alien to her.

My friend. Amelia had called him her friend. Xellos sincerely doubted that anyone other than Amelia could have so casually called him such. But he knew that she meant it, knew that her words meant as much to her as they did to him. "How could I not, knowing all that you have done for me and mine?" She had done, too, sacrificing those nights to his whim for his greater plan, though she could not have known it at the time. And in the cave… when he had been at risk… he smiled, and motioned to her, a silent offering for her to move towards Jedah.

They walked, a Queen and her strangest companion, and as they approached, Amelia could see the amazed delight on Jedah's face. She knew what this would mean to him, this blessing that Xellos could give in the only public way that he could. She knew the guise that Xellos wore was the one he had worn while still Mortal and young. Luckily for her, he looked vaguely related and therefore appropriate.

_You honor me beyond words, Xellos. To be given your blessing is beyond anything that I could have dared hope. To be gifted with it in such a fashion… I haven't the words_. Jedah's thought touched not only Xellos, but Zelgadis as well, and the once-chimera started in realization. Before he could move, Lina placed her hand knowingly on his arm and willed him be still. She couldn't hear the thoughts, but she could tell that something had passed between the three.

Ice blue eyes lifted, and Xellos smiled faintly to Jedah as he echoed his own words to Amelia. _How could I possibly refuse you happiness, Jedah? I can, instead, give you this; though momentary it may be to the likes of us. I have only ever wished you happiness._ He knew that Zelgadis could hear, but he had no desire to hide this. For once, he was doing something worth the sharing. After all was said and done, under the cold and casual Mazoku shell, Xellos was almost as compassionate as Zelgadis.

At the foot of the altar, Xellos turned and kissed Amelia on both cheeks, resting his forehead to hers in what seemed the fond embrace of a cherished Uncle or a family member, someone closer than a visitor or friend. But to Amelia, it was a moment of a different kind. Xellos' voice whispered through her, a gentle touch that seemed as if it was a part of her. _Amelia, I know that you will be good to him, and he to you. But if you feel that the balance is lost, call me and I will come. I swear upon my staff: you have earned my respect and willing protection. _Those were words that neither Jedah nor Zelgadis heard.

Amelia watched as Xellos stepped back, her eyes wide in surprise. She lacked the skills to reply, so offered him an appreciative smile and squeezed his hands before he moved to take Jedah's hand in one of his. He brought his hands together, drawing Amelia and Jedah to each other and slipped his hands free, leaving them to hold each other's hands in a smooth movement before he moved off to sit next to Zelas, nodding perfunctorily for the rest of those present.

As Lina watched, Xellos lifted his head and turned his gaze enough to meet hers, a quiet smile touching his eyes as he lifted a finger to his lips. She could almost hear his comment about secrets echo in her memory, but for once, it didn't annoy her. She understood his actions, and in a way, she could even appreciate it for the selfless act that it was. It was hard, considering that she was attempting to wrap her brain around 'Xellos' and 'selfless act' but she was managing.

Zelgadis was having a less difficult time accepting the bizarre gift that Xellos had made of his walking Amelia down the aisle. Amelia had both united and parted Xellos and Jedah, had been the subject of Xellos' fascination and, strangely enough, not his jealousy. What made his brain hurt was the thought of why Xellos wasn't jealous. Under every circumstance that Zelgadis could come up with, there was only one answer. And he wasn't certain that he could stomach it.

_Yes, Zelgadis. I do love Amelia, but not in the fashion that you consider. I love her because she takes his pain away, makes him smile when I cannot. She completes him, offsets him in ways that I can only dream of doing. For his sake, I accept her, protect her, and in my own way, love her._ Xellos' gaze had shifted from Lina, and fixed steadily on Zelgadis as he sent the thought out. _In time, perhaps I will share what happened before, the shadow that helps scar his heart and body._

Zelgadis looked across to Xellos, and simply nodded. _I would like that._ Before he could continue, however, the Priest arrived, and the wedding officially began.


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter 43

The ceremony had been perfect, and it was clear to everyone how Jedah and Amelia loved each other. Once free to show it, they did; little glances, little smiles, the stray touching of fingers and the gentle brushing of elbows. It was beautiful, sweet, and painfully nauseating, even to normal Mortals.

Xellos stood on the rooftop above, watching the small assembly in the courtyard, the emotions rolling upwards, catching him with small flashes of pain that were more delightful than he could explain. The build-up was coming, and he could feel the pleasure rolling under him, threatening to steal him away from the moment.

A hand clamped on his shoulder, jolting him back from that dangerous precipice, a voice in his ear cold and dry. "You son of a bitch, Xellos. You've done all of this for that single moment that will pass like a memory before she's dead?" Zelgadis had found him, sensed the approaching onslaught of emotion, and pulled him away from it.

"You're no angel yourself, Zelgadis," Xellos replied, though it was with an easy grin, for the interruption had its pleasures as well. "I'm merely taking advantage of the moment available. By making him happy, by giving him this pleasure, I can take comfort in my own pain. It's twisted, true, but it's my release, Zelgadis."

Zelgadis quite suddenly understood all of it, the nights with Amelia, why Xellos had stood against himself, even the reason that he remained within the crystalline cage. Xellos's ultimate fulfillment came from the pain of knowing that Jedah was happy without him. "You're a masochist." It wasn't spoken in revulsion, but in realization.

Xellos turned to look down to the courtyard again, his eyes seeking out Jedah's form. "Underneath it all, yes, I am both sadist and masochist, though more given to masochism. When given the choice, I will always act to my own detriment because it fulfills me more."

In time past, Zelgadis would have found himself quite disgusted and unnerved. Now, however, he simply nodded. It made sense, as twisted as it was. "As bizarre as it sounds, I understand." Instead of pressing the moment, he looked back up to Xellos. "Tell me what you meant. About before, and how it relates to his scar."

Xellos turned, looking to Zelgadis for a moment, and then he nodded. "Not long ago, Jedah met a woman. She was the daughter of a mage, powerful and beautiful. He courted her as he had done no other before, and they grew close." As Xellos spoke, he walked away from the edge and sat on a chair that Zelgadis had crafted.

"How long ago was this?" Zelgadis asked, sitting on his own chair and watching Xellos settle himself. He knew that there were many years of Jedah's existence that he knew nothing about, and any new knowledge was a good thing in his opinion.

"About the same time that we were fighting Phibrizzo," Xellos replied easily, waving away the glass of water that Zelgadis offered. "He had no lands or title, and when he dared to mention his link to Ambervale, her father forbade him see her. Shortly after that, the Golden One destroyed Phibrizzo and Jedah took his place."

Zelgadis frowned, not seeing the connection, and shook his head. "But what does that have to do with the scar? You're giving me pieces of the puzzle, but not showing me how they fit together, Xellos."

"The transfer of power was… explosive, as you can well imagine. It took months for Jedah to acclimatize himself to it, and when he returned to her side, she'd been married off by her father. She died in childbirth, Zelgadis. She died giving birth to another man's child. Do you see now why Jedah reacted to Slidell the way that he did? Why he stood next to Amelia?" Xellos asked, though the queries were rhetorical.

Zelgadis stood, moving away as he thought. If Jedah had loved this other woman, and lost her to another man because of things that he and Lina were doing… it was a good thing that Jedah didn't hate them for it. "Lina called the Golden One at Phibrizzo's behest. I'm amazed that we escaped his fury."

"Jedah cares greatly for you, Zelgadis. He would not do anything that would risk what you and Lina have together," Xellos replied, rising to his feet. He would move on shortly, go somewhere that he could find some quiet respite, perhaps become the silent ghost of Diergat for a time and enjoy the memories that echoed.

Zelgadis nodded thoughtfully, for he'd seen Jedah's reluctance to harm, even when it had seemed that Lina was dead and lost to them forever. "And what about you, Xellos? Taking your pleasure as you do, how far will you go?"

Xellos moved, catching Zelgadis by the front of his shirt, pressing his lips hard against Zelgadis', teeth bruising soft skin for a fierce moment before he moved backwards, solidifying several feet out of Zelgadis' initial reach. "How far is there, Zelgadis? There is no boundary by which I live, save for those that I place upon myself."

"You're a bastard, Xellos," Zelgadis snarled, angrily swiping at his mouth with the back of his hand. He didn't want to admit the strange thrill that had hit him, didn't want to let Xellos know how that unwanted kiss had touched him. He had a feeling Xellos knew anyway.

Xellos bowed, arms opening in a flourish as he began to fade from sight. "Of course I am, Zelgadis. I am the Trickster Priest. Don't doubt it for a moment, and don't ever forget it."

Zelgadis wasn't certain that he could. But that would be something for a different day. This was Jedah and Amelia's moment, and he'd go back to Lina and be happy for the new King and Queen of Saillune. It was, after all, a twisted and perverse sort of pleasure to think that the King of the Holy White City was Hellmaster.

He faded from the rooftop, moving back into the crowd below, joining the festivities and catching up to Lina with ease. He'd made up his mind. Tomorrow, they'd go to Ambervale. It was high time he rebuilt his home.


	45. Epilogue

Epilogue

Silence settled in the room, the sounds of pen and ink scratching across paper fading to not-so-distant memory. The writer regarded the papers for a moment and then nodded to himself. Yes, that was largely how the story had gone. He'd had to change a few things, alter a bit of the tale here and there to protect secrets that shouldn't have been set free.

It seemed that was all he did now, wrote the stories down to paper so that those who were within them would never be forgotten, not that this group ever should be. They would, of course, fade in time, the rich tapestries of lives passing into history and becoming legend as the world moved forwards.

Time was passing; science was rising and would soon possibly replace magic. When that happened, even the old ones such as he would walk the world like shadows given form and breath. He rose from his chair with a sigh, looking out of the window with a quiet gaze. Industry had come, and with it had come cold machine, unforgiving walls and lighting supplied by means other than magic and candle flame.

He'd changed as well, though for him it was far easier than not. Love and heartbreak seemed intertwined now, and as a result, he barely made more than the most casual of acquaintances, holding his own heart aside like a jealous lover. It was hard enough writing the tales he had managed to give pen to, even knowing how much time had passed.

The only solace he had was that he wasn't truly alone. At any time, he could close his eyes and fall back into the memories, into the madness and the mayhem that surrounded Lina Inverse Greywords and her companions. He could lose himself completely and live within those days.

There were only two things that prevented him from doing so. One was the knowledge that it would be only memory, and living within only memory would bring nothing but madness to his weary spirit and destroy what was left of the tales.

The other was that long ago, he had given his word, and he had bound himself to it as surely as if he had taken it as oath. Move forward; don't stop. The world may turn away from magic, but it will still be magical. Become the future's historian and remember. He'd agreed to it readily, though it could have been an order. Now, however, after so much time had passed… well, at least it was starting to hurt less.

A knock came at his door, and he turned to move across the room and open the door, blinking at the sudden light that dazzled. "Yes? What is it?" He asked, lifting a hand to shield his eyes from the sun's light so that he could see who had come to call.

"Are you Master Alexander Grey, historian?" The question was being asked by a young man with a soft voice. He clutched a parcel in both hands, looking entirely self-conscious and uneasy. It took him three times to gather his wits enough to lift his gaze, and his smile faltered as his clear blue eyes met Alexander's.

"I am indeed. What is it that I may do for you?" Alexander wasn't used to pandering to visitors, but this youth seemed to have had at least the courage to gather himself to visit, so he would be kind and see what it was that he wanted. As long as the youth wasn't seeking something like an autograph, that was.

The youth thrust the parcel out, using both hands to offer it to Alexander. "I've come to thank you for your works. You bring the past so vividly to life, reminding us of who we are and where we came from. I found these… in a ruin down south during an expedition to the lost islands… I think… I think that they're scrolls that have been mentioned in your works. I made out one word in the old language, I think it said 'Claire,' but I can't be certain. I figured if anyone could read it… it might be you."

_Claire. After so long, has the Claire Bible finally been found? _Alexander's eyebrows rose and he took the parcel gingerly and began to finger layers of nearly ancient fabric carefully tucked under the canvas wrap. "I shall have a look at these and see what I can learn. Give me your card; you'll find that I reward quite handsomely for discoveries such as this." It was a well known fact that the historian was wealthy and always sought new works from the past to fill his library.

The youth fumbled in his pocket, finally finding and offering a small paper card with his name and information on it. Alexander took it, casting his gaze over the words and nodding to himself. "Very well, young Eric. I will make payment arrangements for you. I believe that you are well deserving of it, considering."

As Alexander turned to close the door, the youth found his voice once again and blurted: "Will you use that to write more, Master Grey? Are there more tales of the redheaded sorceress and her companions?"

He paused, gaining bravery in the moment to follow up with his real question. "I want to know, I need to know if it truly is history… or if it's something you made up, a fanciful stringing of fact with fiction. It seems so unreal to me outside of your writings. Did she really live and breathe and walk this world?"

There was a pause, and Alexander stopped the door as he closed it, looking back through the crack that was left between the door and the doorjamb, his gaze catching the youth's eyes and seeming to flicker with a glitter that wasn't a reflection of light. "That, young man, is a secret." And then he closed the door and walked back to his workroom, a knowing smile on his lips.


End file.
